Audi’s Gabriel Bortoleto and Nico Hulkenberg have narrowly avoided penalties following separate incidents during the final practice session at the United States Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas. Both drivers faced stewards’ scrutiny after contentious moments, but only Bortoleto received a formal warning, while Hulkenberg was cleared without sanction.

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Bortoleto came under fire for impeding Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton at the technical Turn 12, a sharp left-hander where Hamilton was on a crucial flying lap. The seven-time world champion, who posted the fastest FP3 time for the first time in two years, was forced to brake hard when Bortoleto, traveling slowly on the racing line during an in-lap, blocked his approach. The stewards’ report confirmed the infringement: “Car 44 [Hamilton] was on a push lap approaching turn 12, car 5 [Bortoleto], on an in-lap, was traveling at a lower speed in a position which compromised car 44’s braking. Car 44 had to abort the lap.”

Bortoleto admitted he received an early warning from his engineer about Hamilton’s approach but was preoccupied with his car setup and missed the alert before entering Turn 12. The report detailed that due to the downhill nature of the corner entry, Bortoleto only spotted Hamilton at the last second, releasing the brakes and moving off into the runoff area too late to avoid compromising Hamilton’s lap. The stewards acknowledged the incident was not dangerous, but imposed a warning consistent with prior free practice impeding cases. This comes amid Bortoleto’s already looming 80-place grid penalty for a double power unit change this weekend, compounding his challenging weekend.

In contrast, Hulkenberg escaped any penalty after an incident during a practice start in the pit lane. The stewards reviewed the situation where Hulkenberg’s rear visibility was obstructed by a car behind, leaving him unaware of Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll approaching. According to the stewards’ notes, “The team representative explained that the driver’s rear vision was obscured by the car behind at the practice start location, and that the driver had no idea of the approach of car 18 [Stroll].”

The report also highlighted the complexity of the pit lane exit at COTA, where cars performing practice starts must merge over a short distance with traffic exiting the pits at speed. Despite Stroll having to brake, the incident was deemed “not dangerous and easily managed by both drivers,” resulting in a decision of no further action.

The contrasting outcomes underscore the fine margins and intense scrutiny drivers face even outside race conditions at a high-stakes Grand Prix weekend. Bortoleto’s warning adds to his mounting challenges, while Hulkenberg can proceed without disciplinary concerns as the championship battle intensifies.