The outcome of Saturday’s Formula 1 Sprint at the British Grand Prix could still change after the FIA confirmed a post-race investigation into an incident involving Liam Lawson and Isack Hadjar.
Mercedes youngster Kimi Antonelli crossed the line to claim Sprint victory ahead of Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton, but attention soon shifted to a fierce battle further down the order for the final points-paying position.
Hadjar and Lawson went wheel-to-wheel in the closing stages as they fought over eighth place. The key flashpoint came approaching Turn 15, where Lawson appeared to make a late move while defending, prompting Hadjar to accuse the Racing Bulls driver of changing direction under braking.
Reacting over team radio, Hadjar said: “That was crazy. He moved under braking so hard.”
Following the race, the FIA announced that both drivers had been summoned to the stewards over an alleged “abnormal change of direction.” The hearing was scheduled to take place around 30 minutes after the Sprint finished.
The investigation leaves the final classification uncertain, with the last championship point still potentially up for grabs depending on the stewards’ verdict.
Speaking after the race, Hadjar insisted he was not overly concerned about the single point but hoped the officials would take a balanced view of the incident.
“I’m not going to chase that final point so hard, but I hope the decision they take is sensible because that was very aggressive in the car,” he told Sky Sports F1.
Lawson also acknowledged that his defensive move may have pushed the limits.
“It was close and probably quite aggressive,” he admitted. “To be fair, I hadn’t started braking yet, so we were still flat out, but maybe it was a bit too aggressive. We’ll see what the stewards decide.”
