The FIA is "revisiting" Hamilton's penalty for crossing the track in Qatar

Weird one, this. A week after Lewis Hamilton was fined €50,000 (about £43k) for crossing the track in the aftermath of his crash at the start of the Qatar GP, the FIA has announced that it is “revisiting” the penalty.

The Mercedes driver tangled with teammate George Russell in a collision he later admitted he was entirely at fault for, and having climbed out of his car he made a bee-line for the pits, reaching the edge of the track moments before Russell rejoined the circuit at high speed.

Apparently Hamilton later accepted that this could’ve been dangerous, and stewards noted that he was “very apologetic” before issuing their verdict. Lesson learned and time to move on.

Er, not if the FIA has anything to say about it. A spokesperson for the governing body has now said that the incident is being reviewed, news of which broke on Sunday… when almost everyone in F1 was enjoying a weekend off.

Most bizarrely of all, the spokesperson is reported to have said: “In view of his role model status, the FIA is concerned about the impression his actions may have created on younger drivers.”

Role model status? Does that mean the rules are applied differently to non role models?

Anyway, it’s not clear if a chunkier fine is heading Hamilton’s way (half of the original was suspended, meaning he won’t pay it unless he reoffends) or if the FIA simply wants a tougher deterrent in place for next time.

At least this feels slightly more legit than when the FIA threw a wobbler over Lewis’s piercings…