No action taken on Mercedes investigation, Hamilton keeps win

The FIA have taken no action on Mercedes for supposedly having tyre pressures that were below the regulated minimum at the start of the race. The conclusion has, therefore, determined that Lewis Hamilton is the victor of the Italian Grand Prix.

The decision also means that Hamilton does indeed extend his championship advantage to 53 points over team mate Nico Rosberg.

After the race we discovered that, on the grid, Hamilton's tyres were 0.3psi under the minimum, and Rosberg's were 1.1psi under the minimum; resulting in both cars being investigated by the stewards.

A statement from the FIA said: “Having heard from the Technical Delegate, the Team Representatives and the Pirelli Team Tyre engineer, the Stewards have determined that the pressure in the tyres concerned were at the minimum start pressure recommended by Pirelli when they were fitted to the car.

“In making this determination regarding the pressures, the Stewards noted that the tyre warming blankets had been disconnected from their power source, as is normal procedure, and the tyres were significantly below the maximum permitted tyre blanket temperature at the time of the FIA’s measurement on the grid, and at significantly different temperatures from other cars measured on the grid.

"Further, the stewards are satisfied that the team followed the currently specified procedure, supervised by the Tyre Manufacturer, for the safe operation of the tyres.

“Therefore the Stewards decide to take no further action.

“Nevertheless, the Stewards recommend that the Tyre Manufacturer and the FIA hold further meetings to provide clear guidance to the teams on measurement protocols.”

Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff said: "We were exactly on the minimum pressures like we should have been when the tyres were put on the car.

"I don’t know where the discrepancy came from, but it was not procedural and it was not a mistake done by the team in order to gain an advantage."

This investigation comes on a weekend where Pirelli have been concerned about tyre safety, after Nico Rosberg and Sebastian Vettel suffered tyre failures during the Belgian Grand Prix weekend.

Having found no structural fault with the tyres, Pirelli decided to raise the minimum tyre pressures as a precautionary measure. It remains to be seen how they will approach the remaining races this season.

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