Formula 1: Lewis Hamilton penalized; Carlos Sainz Jr. promoted to podium

Lewis Hamilton has been stripped of his third place finish in the Brazilian Grand Prix, promoting Carlos Sainz Jr. to the podium for the first time in his Formula 1 career.

Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport’s Lewis Hamilton originally finished the penultimate race of the 2019 Formula 1 season, the Brazilian Grand Prix, in third place at Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace behind race winner Max Verstappen of Aston Martin Red Bull Racing and surprise runner-up finisher Pierre Gasly of Scuderia Toro Rosso.

But while running in third place behind Verstappen and Red Bull Racing rookie Alexander Albon on the penultimate lap of the 71-lap race around the 15-turn, 2.677-mile (4.308-kilometer) Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace road course in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Hamilton made contract with Albon, sending him spinning. This allowed Gasly to move into second and dropped Hamilton to third.

Now Hamilton has been issued a five-second time penalty, and because the field were so stacked up due to the fact that the race only restarted from the second of two safety car periods with two laps remaining, this penalty demoted him to all the way back to seventh place.

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As a result, McLaren’s Carlos Sainz Jr. was promoted to the podium for the first time in his Formula 1 career with a third place finish after starting all the way back in 20th (last) due to the fact that he could not make a qualifying attempt because of engine issues.

But there’s a catch.

Per RACER’s Chris Medland, Sainz remains under investigation for DRS use. A penalty issued to him would promote Alfa Romeo Racing’s Kimi Raikkonen to third place, as he was promoted to fourth as a result of Hamilton’s penalty.

Meanwhile, Alfa Romeo Racing rookie Antonio Giovinazzi was promoted to a career-high fifth place ahead of Renault’s Daniel Ricciardo, who dropped to last early on after making contact with Haas’ Kevin Magnussen and damaging his front wing, in sixth. Ricciardo also overcame a five-second penalty as a result of this incident.

As of now, here are the official race results of the 2019 Brazilian Grand Prix at Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace.

Race Results
1st – Max Verstappen
2nd – Pierre Gasly
3rd – Carlos Sainz Jr.
4th – Kimi Raikkonen
5th – Antonio Giovinazzi
6th – Daniel Ricciardo
7th – Lewis Hamilton
8th – Lando Norris
9th – Sergio Perez
10th – Daniil Kvyat
11th – Kevin Magnussen
12th – George Russell
13th – Romain Grosjean
14th – Alexander Albon
15th – Nico Hulkenberg
16th – Robert Kubica
17th – Sebastian Vettel
18th – Charles Leclerc
19th – Lance Stroll
20th – Valtteri Bottas

Stay tuned to see whether Carlos Sainz Jr. will retain his first career Formula 1 podium finish or if Kimi Raikkonen will be promoted to the podium for the first time at Alfa Romeo Racing.