Lewis Hamilton made contact with Esteban Ocon in the Imola pitlane as drivers desperately pitted for dry tyres. Ocon hit the side of the seven-time champion after an unsafe release from the Alpine team and was hit with a five-second penalty for the incident.
The incident was under investigation by the stewards with Ocon then being given a five-second time penalty for his team’s unsafe release. The rush for dry tyres was started as a dry line appeared to form on the wet track.
McLaren’s Daniel Ricciardo was one of the first to make the leap and was followed moments later by half the field. However, Hamilton lost time in his pit stop and dropped three places down to 14th.
The seven-time champion had struggled to make an impact on the race before the track dried after being stuck behind other midfield cars.
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However, team-mate George Russell had a great start, moving up from 11th to fifth. Alpine were desperate to get Ocon higher up the field after Fernando Alonso retired during the opening stages.
Contact with Mick Schumacher on the first lap loosened the Spaniard’s sidepod which fellow off moments later. The team were forced to retire the car which compromised the team’s hope for a strong points finish.
Meanwhile, Mercedes has struggled all weekend in Imola as their problems appear to have worsened. The team was the third-fastest car at the other three race weekends this season but have lacked even more pace in Italy.
Both drivers were knocked out in Q2 on Friday and were unable to break into the top 10 in Saturday’s sprint.
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With half the race remaining, Hamilton was still struggling to work his way through the field and continued to sit in 14th. After Saturday’s sprint race, the Briton had claimed his opportunity to win the title this season appeared to be over.
He said: “A lot of work is going on in the background and it is what it is, this is what we have. We haven’t got it right this year but everyone is working as hard as they can to correct it.
“This is the situation that we are faced with and we are obviously not fighting for the Championship but we are fighting to understand this car and improve and progress through the year. That is all we can hope for right now.”
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