Lewis Hamilton avoided a Canadian Grand Prix sprint penalty because stewards decided Oscar Piastri was not in an overtaking position at the key moment.
That was the dividing line in Montreal. Hamilton left the track at Turn 13, cut through the chicane, and rejoined ahead of Piastri. At first glance, it looked similar to Nico Hulkenberg’s incident with Liam Lawson at the same corner.
The verdicts were different. Hulkenberg received a 10-second time penalty. Hamilton kept his result.
For fans, the decision matters because it shows how closely stewards now read wheel-to-wheel racing. Leaving the track does not automatically mean a penalty. The question is whether a driver gained a lasting sporting advantage, and whether that advantage came while defending from a genuine attack.
Turn 13 in Montreal is a high-pressure place for these calls. It is the final chicane, bordered by unforgiving limits and famous for late defensive moves. A driver who runs straight through can avoid the normal time loss of taking the kerbs and rotation of the corner.
That is why the stewards looked carefully at both cases.
In Hulkenberg’s case, they judged that he left the track while defending against Lawson. The key point was positional. Lawson was close enough for the stewards to treat the move as an active fight for position.
Hulkenberg rejoined ahead of Lawson and did not give the place back. The officials decided he had kept a lasting advantage. In simple terms, he left the racing surface, stayed ahead, and did not hand back what he gained.
A 10-second penalty is a heavy sanction in a sprint. Sprint races are short, with fewer laps to recover from any time loss. A penalty of that size can wipe out a hard-earned finish and move a driver down the order once the classification is settled.
Hamilton’s case was judged through a narrower lens. The Ferrari driver was ahead of Piastri on the approach to Turn 13. He then left the track, drove through the chicane, and rejoined still ahead.
The stewards accepted that this looked similar to Hulkenberg’s incident. But they said Piastri was not in an overtaking position. That meant Hamilton was not considered to be defending his position under the driving standards guidelines.
That distinction changed everything. If a driver cuts a corner while defending from a car already making an overtake, the advantage is usually clear. If the following car is not yet in a position to pass, stewards may decide no place was protected illegally.
This is where fan frustration often begins. Two cars can leave the track at the same corner and rejoin in the same order. One driver can be punished while another escapes.
But the regulations are not built only around the visual outcome. They also ask what the battle looked like before the car left the track. Track position, overlap, and the attacking driver’s realistic chance all feed into the decision.
For Indian fans watching late-night or early-morning sessions, these rulings can feel especially important. The sprint format compresses the drama. A single chicane decision can shape the result more than a normal grand prix stint.
The Hulkenberg penalty was not the only Lawson-related call at Turn 13. Sergio Perez also received a 10-second penalty after an incident with the Racing Bulls driver.
In that case, stewards found Lawson was trying to overtake Perez on the straight before Turn 13. Perez moved right, then moved back left, and Lawson was forced off the track.
That brought a second major penalty from the same corner. It also underlined Lawson’s central role in the Montreal sprint’s most controversial battles. He was the attacking driver in both punished incidents.
Perez’s penalty sits in a slightly different category from the Hamilton and Hulkenberg comparison. It was about forcing a rival off track during a defensive move. The stewards focused on the movement across the track before the braking zone.
The combined message was clear. Drivers can defend, but they cannot use the edge of the track as a tool to shut down an overtake.
Lance Stroll also faced a stewarding review after he failed to take part in the formation lap from the grid. That case ended without a penalty.
The reason was mechanical rather than procedural. Stroll’s car was pushed off the grid because of a technical problem. Stewards decided no sanction was needed.
That decision will be easier for most fans to understand. If a car cannot move because of a technical issue, the driver has not gained anything. The team also loses the chance to race normally from its grid position.
One matter remained open after the sprint. Esteban Ocon was still under investigation for a possible tyre pressure infringement involving his Haas team before the race.
Tyre pressure rules are not glamorous, but they matter. Teams must run tyres within mandated limits for safety and performance reasons. Lower pressures can improve grip and contact with the road, but they can also increase stress on the tyre structure.
When stewards investigate a tyre pressure issue, they are usually looking at whether the car met the required minimums at the correct point in the event procedure. The supplied facts do not confirm any outcome for Ocon, so that remains unresolved.
The bigger sporting story is consistency. Formula 1 fans want stewards to treat similar moves in similar ways. Teams want drivers to know what they can do before they reach the braking zone.
Montreal showed that the word “similar” can be dangerous. Hamilton and Hulkenberg both left the track at Turn 13. Both rejoined ahead of the car behind. But the stewards judged the racing situation before the shortcut differently.
That is the part teams will study. The question is not only where the cars were after the chicane. It is whether the chasing driver had a real attacking position before the lead car left the circuit.
Hamilton benefits from that interpretation. Hulkenberg does not. Perez also loses out after a separate defensive move against Lawson.
For the championship weekend, the decisions add another layer to an already busy Canadian sprint. George Russell won the Montreal sprint ahead of Lando Norris, while the field also had to digest penalties, investigations, and disputed standards at the final chicane.
The final message from the stewards is useful, even if it will not satisfy everyone. A driver who leaves the track while defending from a live overtake risks a penalty. A driver who runs off without blocking an active pass may escape one.
At Turn 13 in Montreal, that difference was worth 10 seconds.
