Penalty points received by Hamilton replaced by fine for Mercedes

Comfortably installed in first place on the starting grid, Lewis Hamilton had all the cards in hand to win in Russia and achieve his 91st victory. Ultimately, race stewards thwarted the driver's plans Mercedes.

Having not carried out his starting procedure at the location indicated by the FIA, the Briton received a 10-second penalty. His hopes of matching the winning record of Michael Schumacher then evaporated. But that wasn't all.

In fact, two penalty points had to be added to his license bringing his total to 10. Thus, he was getting closer to 12 points and therefore a suspension from a Grand Prix. Ultimately, the race stewards backed down.

They decided to cancel this points sanction on Lewis Hamilton's license but did not spare Mercedes. Having ordered the Briton to do his starting procedure in the wrong location, the German team was fined 25.000 euros.

In this way, Lewis Hamilton's points capital remains at eight and thus sees the possibility of missing a Grand Prix receding.