An FIA steward has acknowledged that Lewis Hamilton slammed a door in frustration as a result of one of his biggest career mistakes.
The incident in question was the collision between Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg during the 2016 Spanish Grand Prix, which was a crucial point in their fierce competition for the Drivers’ Championship. During the race, Hamilton and Rosberg collided as he attempted to pass the latter, and both ended up in the gravel.
During an appearance on the F1 Nation podcast, Tim Mayer, the Chairman of the FIA stewards, discussed how stewards operate and, after Hamilton and Charles Leclerc were disqualified from the US Grand Prix on Sunday, shared an intriguing story about conversations with drivers post-race.
Mayer revealed that his biggest regret was not the official decision to not penalise Hamilton or Rosberg, but rather how he handled the aftermath of the situation.
Steward recalls ‘biggest mistake’
“My biggest mistake ever as a steward was in 2016, Hamilton and Rosberg started the race in Barcelona and they crashed,” Mayer said.
“Both drivers were out. We bring them in afterwards. And we decide no further action in the end.
“Well, what was I supposed to do?’ Lewis asks me. As a steward and someone who has never driven a Formula One car, I began by telling him what I believed he should have done.
“That wasn’t polite of him; he stood up, appeared agitated, slammed the door, and left. His team manager, poor Ron Meadows, lost all color in his face and said, “Oh, I’ll get him back to apologize.”
“I actually need you to go apologize on my behalf because what I did was foolish,” I said to Ron.
“It’s maybe not my stupidest thing as a steward but I’m not going to tell you the other ones!”
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