
Lewis Hamilton will keep his qualifying position at the Canadian Grand Prix after the FIA stewards concluded their investigation into an alleged impeding incident involving Alpine's Pierre Gasly on the approach to Turn 8 — and determined no further action was warranted.
The case, which centred on a potential interaction between Car 44 and Car 10, was examined under Article B4.1.1 of the FIA Formula One Regulations, the specific clause governing unnecessary impeding during qualifying sessions. As reported when the matter was first referred to the stewards, Hamilton had been placed under investigation following a report from the Race Director in the immediate aftermath of the session.

Before reaching any conclusion, the stewards summoned both drivers alongside their respective team representatives and conducted a full review of the available evidence. That process encompassed positioning and marshalling system data, video recordings, timing information, telemetry traces, team radio messages, and in-car camera footage — a comprehensive sweep that left little ambiguity about the conditions of the encounter.
Hamilton, in his hearing statement, explained that he had been "under the impression that Car 10 was not on a push lap," adding that he believed Gasly was preparing for a timed run rather than actively attempting one. Ferrari backed that position entirely, informing the stewards that their own information at the time also indicated Gasly was not on a flying lap when Hamilton encountered him. The alignment between driver and team strengthened the credibility of Hamilton's account.

What ultimately proved decisive, however, was the position taken by Gasly himself and the Alpine representative. Far from pressing for a penalty, both parties supported Hamilton's interpretation of events. Gasly's statement was described in the stewards' document as a direct acknowledgement that he did not consider himself to have been improperly obstructed, nor that the incident had affected his qualifying performance in any meaningful way. The Alpine team representative echoed the same view.
That rare alignment — accuser and accused offering a consistent reading of the same incident — gave the stewards firm ground on which to act. After weighing all submissions, they concluded that the circumstances did not constitute a breach of Article B4.1.1, noting that the available data did not demonstrate any deliberate or avoidable obstruction.
The outcome means Hamilton retains his qualifying result without reprimand or grid penalty, free to focus entirely on Sunday's race. With wet weather forecast over Circuit Gilles Villeneuve — George Russell having claimed a stunning pole position for Mercedes in a tightly-contested session — every grid position carries added significance given the unpredictable conditions expected on race day.
For Hamilton, the clean bill from the stewards removes one potential headache ahead of what promises to be a complex and demanding afternoon in Montreal.

He’s a software engineer with a deep passion for Formula 1 and motorsport. He co-founded Formula Live Pulse to make live telemetry and race insights accessible, visual, and easy to follow.
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