Anthony Davidson warns young drivers not to follow Lewis Hamilton's Madrid FP3 example

Former Formula 1 driver and Sky Sports analyst Anthony Davidson has argued that Lewis Hamilton set a bad example for junior drivers during the third practice session in Madrid.

Hamilton crashed at the final corner during FP3, bringing out the red flag. He managed to reverse away from the wall and resume driving with a puncture and the front wing under the car. 

"The team need to give him more information," Davidson explained on the Sky Sports broadcast as the Briton continued to drive the damaged car.

"They need to say the front wing is under your car and the race director is going to give us a penalty over this."

Despite receiving repeated instructions from his race engineer to stop the car in a safe place, Hamilton attempted to nurse the car back to the pits. He eventually pulled over and stopped the car at the exit of Turn 14 when he was informed he had received direct instructions from the race director.

Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari

Photo by: Simon Galloway / LAT Images via Getty Images

Davidson added that the decision from Hamilton could set a poor example for young drivers. "Any young driver that is watching this right now, you don't do that. You just don't do that," he said.

"That's what you could have tried to do [get back to the pits] but that rule is there for a reason. If it went under the car completely and jacked your front wheels up and there were marshals on the track, you've got to think of all these scenarios."

The session resumed, with Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli going on to set the fastest lap, and Hamilton was ninth. At the time of writing, there has yet to be an update from the FIA regarding a potential penalty for the seven-time champion. It is anticipated that he could face either a fine or a sporting penalty.

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- The Motorsport.com Team