Lewis Hamilton awarded 5 seconds penalty and 2 penalty points to his license for colliding with Sergio Perez at Spa

Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton was awarded a five-second time penalty after he collided with Sergio Perez during the Belgian GP Sprint race on Saturday. Along with a 5-second time penalty during the race, the legendary driver also had two penalty points added to his license. According to The Stewards, the Briton understeered into Perez at Turn 15 in wet conditions and was responsible for causing a collision.

In the damp conditions, the seven-time world champion was fighting against the Red Bull driver for P4 on the grid, and he went for the move after he saw the opportunity in the twisty sector two of the track.

The Briton went wheel to wheel with the Mexican driver but could not control his W14 and touched the sidepod of the RB19. Initially, it looked like a racing incident between two drivers fighting for the same position, but the FIA gave Lewis Hamilton a 5-second penalty for causing a collision after checking Perez's car.

The damage from the clash meant that the Red Bull driver had to retire from the Sprint race after he found himself falling down the grid like a domino. The penalty meant that Hamilton finished P8 just a tenth ahead of his Mercedes teammate, George Russell, after initially finishing behind Pierre Gasly in P4.

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Lewis Hamilton analyzes his Sprint Shootout performance

The Mercedes driver stated that the whole session was a total mess in terms of communication between the team and the drivers.

As per F1.com, Lewis Hamilton said:

“Not happy about it obviously. It was a really fun session, and it was looking great at the end. Obviously I had that lap [in SQ3] that put me first for the first lap that I’d done, and I knew that I could have gone quicker. I reckon I could have been first or second on that last lap."

He continued:

"Communication was pretty poor. It was difficult to understand. We got to the last corner, and it was seven cars trundling around. We were led to believe we didn’t have any time left which is why we were pushing. But we had plenty of time.

He added:

"I feel great in the car, in all conditions. We’re a little bit slower than the [Red] Bulls in the middle sector, but none of us have driven in the heavier fuel. I’m excited it is dry today, so hopefully we can have a good race.”

It will be fascinating to see if Lewis Hamilton has a better main race on Sunday, as he is starting from P3 and will have a decent shot at getting another podium this season.