Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton given 20-second post-race time penalty by FIA

Lewis Hamilton was given a drive-through penalty for speeding in the pitlane in the Miami GP Sprint race. As the 19-lap race was over, it got converted into a 20-second time penalty, relegating him to a 16th-place finish.

After lining 12th on the grid, Hamilton had an eventful start to the Sprint race, as he was involved in the first corner incident which triggered the safety car. During the caution period, the safety car led the drivers through the pitlane when the Mercedes driver sped over the limit of 80 Km/hr.

The penalty was announced in the latter stage of the sprint race when Lewis Hamilton had taken the checkered flag already. Hence it was converted to a time penalty and added to his finishing time, which dropped him from eighth to 16th position.

"Lewis has been given a drive through penalty for speeding in the pit lane...Given that he can’t serve it as the Sprint is over, that becomes a 20-second post-race time penalty and drops him to P16," Mercedes' official X handle wrote.

Following the turn 1 incident, Lewis Hamilton was stuck behind the two Haas drivers, battling for the final points-paying position. Kevin Magnussen put on a stern defense, preventing Hamilton from overtaking him, and increased the gap to his teammate Nico Hulkenberg, once he received penalties.

Hamilton eventually took the checkered flag in the eighth position, however, his penalty promoted RB driver Yuki Tsunoda to the final points-paying position, marking a double points finish for the team with Daniel Ricciardo classified fourth.

Lewis Hamilton's teammate George Russell had an unimpressive sprint race, as he was stuck in the DRS train and couldn't make up any positions due to the lack of straight-line speed in the W15. Russell was classified 12th in the end.

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Mercedes boss reacts to Lewis Hamilton's penalty and W15's race pace

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff shrugged off the drive-through penalty for Lewis Hamilton, insisting such mishaps can happen in a race.

"I think the penalty for speeding in the pitlane, these things can happen." he told Sky Sports.

Wolff was not concerned with the race pace of the W15, suggesting that the car was not in a bad place but a setup change was necessary for the qualifying and the Grand Prix:

"The pace of the car was not bad. It is clear that we need to change the direction for qualifying. [Yesterday] we weren't working the mediums at all. And, you could also see the McLaren not working on the soft. So, its the same for everybody."