Bortoleto gets a warning for impeding Hamilton in Austin practice, Hulkenberg cleared
The stewards warned Audi's Gabriel Bortoleto for unnecessarily impeding Lewis Hamilton at Turn 12 in final practice. A separate pit-lane incident involving Nico Hulkenberg and Lance Stroll ended with no further action.
Two Audi investigations, two outcomes
Audi had two cases to answer after final practice for the United States Grand Prix, and the stewards came to different conclusions. Gabriel Bortoleto received a warning. Nico Hulkenberg was cleared without any sanction.
Bortoleto and Hamilton at Turn 12
The Bortoleto case involved Lewis Hamilton. According to RacingNews365 and PlanetF1, Bortoleto was on an in-lap and slowed on the racing line approaching Turn 12 while Hamilton was on a push lap. Hamilton had to brake hard and abort the lap, and he voiced his frustration over team radio.
Bortoleto told the stewards his engineer had warned him about Hamilton roughly 15 seconds earlier, but he missed the message while dealing with his car. Because the entry to Turn 12 is downhill, he only saw the Ferrari at the last moment. The stewards concluded that he had unnecessarily impeded Hamilton and issued a warning, noting that it matched earlier practice incidents of this kind. Ferrari's representative said the incident was not dangerous.
Hulkenberg and Stroll in the pit lane
The second investigation concerned a practice start in the pit lane, where Hulkenberg set off and Lance Stroll had to brake. Audi explained that Hulkenberg's view to the rear was blocked by the car behind, and that a practice start lasts only five to 15 seconds, so Stroll's approach was not obvious when he began. The pit exit also merges cars over a short distance.
The stewards found the situation was not dangerous and was "easily managed by both drivers". No further action was taken against either man.
Context
The warning is the lightest tool available, so it has no effect on the grid. Bortoleto's weekend is already difficult for another reason: he carries an 80-place grid penalty for a double power unit change and starts last. Hamilton, who had topped FP3 for the first time in two years before qualifying, finished fifth in qualifying behind Leclerc. The race starts on Sunday at 20:00 UTC.
