Lewis Hamilton has spoken of the relief that swept through Mercedes in the wake of the seemingly paltry punishment meted out for taking part in a controversial tyre test.
Mercedes were given a reprimand following a hearing of the FIA’s International Tribunal last week into the three-day test session in conjunction with Pirelli in Barcelona last month.
The team have also been banned from any involvement in a young driver test to be held at Silverstone on July 17-19, a sanction described by team principal Ross Brawn as “pretty severe”.
Given Mercedes could have been deducted points or handed a race ban, which could have been applied for this weekend’s British Grand Prix, it is no wonder Hamilton has admitted to a sense of satisfaction within the team following the hearing.
“I tried my best not to give it much thought,” said Hamilton on what transpired at the FIA headquarters in Paris. “I was waiting to hear. Ross kept me in the loop and I’d get an email here and there from the lawyer explaining where we were.
“But I kind of tried not to put any energy towards it. I was trying to focus on preparing myself for this race.
“Of course, when I saw the team at the weekend it was a relief for everyone. Everyone was relieved they could get on and start focusing on the next race.
“We’ve got into a good position so far, and if we can get into an even better one that would be fantastic. They have been working so hard to get the results we’ve had, so a negative result was not needed.”
Although Mercedes’ rivals, notably Ferrari, have expressed disgust at the verdict, Hamilton is acutely aware of how crucial a young driver test is these days to a team’s season.
Hamilton said: “That test is quite an important one for the year. It’s important because we had a lot planned, upgrades and stuff that we were planning to test on those three days.
“It’s also vital for the drivers who are always on the simulator to test the tyres, to see where they are and provide feedback so they can continue working on developments and improving the simulator.
“It definitely puts us back a little bit, but we’re going to have to try to figure out a way to recover it elsewhere.”