Hamilton cleared of ignoring yellow flags, stays second on grid
Updated | By AFP
Lewis Hamilton was cleared of ignoring yellow flags during qualifying at the Austrian Grand Prix on Saturday and will start Sunday's race from second on the grid alongside his Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas.
The six-time world champion was called to see the stewards to face two charges – that he did not slow for the flags and that he ran off-track on his first lap in Q3.
The stewards said Hamilton was shown "conflicting signals" after Bottas had skidded off into a gravel trap in Q3.
"The driver mentioned that he passed a green light panel in turn five, said the stewards.
"The video footage confirmed that there have been yellow flags and green light panels at the same time and therefore conflicting signals were shown to the driver.
"Taking this into account, the stewards decide to take no further action."
Hamilton was also investigated for leaving the track during his first lap in Q3.
The stewards ruled he did run wide at turn 10 and so deleted the lap time set.
As this was not his fastest lap, it did not affect his qualifying position.
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Bottas upstages Hamilton to take opening pole of season
The Finnish driver outpaced the six-time champion with a best lap in qualifying in one minute and 2.939 seconds and then survived an 'off' into the gravel and a spin on his final lap to remain 0.012 seconds clear of the Briton.
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