Formula 1’s governing body is reassessing a penalty Lewis Hamilton received at the Qatar Grand Prix for crossing the track without permission.
Hamilton was fined 50,000 euros (£34,700), with half of it suspended, and given a formal reprimand.
A spokesperson said: “In view of his role-model status, the FIA is concerned about the impression his actions may have created on younger drivers.”
The statement “noted” Hamilton had been “apologetic” in the initial hearing.
“The FIA is revisiting the incident in which Lewis Hamilton crossed a live track during the Qatar Grand Prix,” said a FIA spokesperson.
It added that at the time Hamilton “acknowledged that the crossing was a serious safety breach”.
The incident happened after Hamilton had crashed out of the Qatar Grand Prix on the first lap in a collision with his Mercedes team-mate George Russell.
The stewards’ report into the incident on 8 October stated: “The driver of car 44 (Hamilton) abandoned his car in the gravel and ran back to the pits.
“He thereby crossed the track that was live at this time and reached the inside edge of the track just seconds before car 63 (Russell) arrived at high speed after exiting the pits.
“He then continued to walk alongside the track until finally exiting the track.”
The stewards’ added that Hamilton had been “very apologetic and realised that the situation could have been very dangerous for him as well as the drivers approaching.
“The stewards reinforced the fact that crossing a live track can cause extremely dangerous situations and the drivers have to be very cautious about it.”
The F1 rule dealing with this topic emphasises that while drivers are permitted to cross the track, they must only do so “having first received permission to do so from a marshal”.
It is the second incident reviewed by the FIA following events in Qatar.
On Friday, the FIA said it had received an apology from Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll for his behaviour after a poor performance in qualifying.
