Hamilton under investigation by São Paulo commissioners for technical irregularity

Dramatic turn of events this Friday evening at Interlagos with the announcement that the Mercedes de Lewis Hamilton, who dominated the qualifying session for the São Paulo Grand Prix earlier in the day, was the subject of an investigation by race stewards.

Jo Bauer, FIA technical delegate, noted during his traditional post-session checks that the removable wing system (DRS in short) of the Briton's W12 did not meet the requirements of technical directive TD/011- 19, more precisely at the level of the maximum distance of 85 mm to be respected when the DRS is deployed.

Bauer therefore decided to refer it to the stewards, who will decide on the existence of a possible technical irregularity and could sanction again, or even disqualify Hamilton, who must already fall 5 places on the grid on Sunday due to a non-regulatory engine change.

This is an incident which could well have a major influence in the title race, with Hamilton losing 19 points on Max Verstappen (Red Bull) with 4 rounds and 1 Sprint event remaining at the end of the season.