Will Buxton questions FIA’s decision of penalising Lewis Hamilton based on his “role model status”

F1 journalist Will Buxton feels that the rules must be the same for drivers upon the resurgence of Lewis Hamilton's penalty by the FIA post the incident in Qatar.

The Qatar Grand Prix was a tough one for Hamilton after he crashed out on the first corner of the opening lap whilst trying to make a move on his teammate, George Russell, who, at the same time, was making a move on Max Verstappen.

After the crash, Hamilton crossed the live track and moved to the other side with his car still stuck in the gravel. This was unsafe as the cars were still on the track, and the FIA subsequently fined him €50,000. However, the FIA recently revealed that they would be 'revisiting' the incident and the penalty because of the 'role model figure' that the driver has.

However, Will Buxton is largely unsatisfied with this decision and the whole 'role model figure.' He mentioned an incident that occurred with Romain Grosjean in 2012 at the start of the Belgian GP (the driver crashed with Lewis Hamilton, taking out multiple drivers). The French-Swiss driver had to pay a fine and had a race ban. Buxton wrote:

"Rules surely have to be applied equally no matter who is involved in the incident."

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FIA worried about the impression that Lewis Hamilton's move would have formed on younger drivers

The Mercedes driver has a huge fan base and it is only right to consider him as a role model of many. This is one of the major reasons behind FIA's wish to revisit the incident.

Despite Lewis Hamilton admitting his wrongdoing in hearing with the stewards, the FIA are worried about the impression that he might have formed on younger drivers. The Race quoted the FIA,

"The FIA notes that Lewis was apologetic during the subsequent stewards hearing in to the incident and acknowledged that the crossing was a serious safety breach," said the statement it issued to media."

"However, in view of his role model status, the FIA is concerned about the impression his actions may have created on younger drivers."

The FIA has been growing stricter with the rules and regulations of Formula 1 and it is no exception that Lewis Hamilton would have to face the same for what he did during the race. Crossing a live track was dangerous, especially because the red flag wasn't waved.