Mercedes were punished with the biggest fine in Formula 1 in the 2020 season after Lewis Hamilton’s practice start in the Russian Grand Prix. Hamilton was handed two five-second penalties at the time, which were later rescinded after the race.

The seven-time world champion was given two separate penalties after he performed two practice starts in an incorrect area before the race started.

However, Hamilton asked Mercedes if he was allowed to do that – as he had his suspicions – and the team gave him the go-ahead.

The FIA later took away Hamilton’s penalty points and instead handed Mercedes a £22,000 (€25,000) fine for the illegal action.

“The Stewards received information from the team that the driver of car 44 had received a team instruction to perform the practice start in the incorrect place,” the FIA stewards’ statement read.

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Mercedes were punished with the biggest fine in Formula 1 in the 2020 season after Lewis Hamilton’s practice start in the Russian Grand Prix. Hamilton was handed two five-second penalties at the time, which were later rescinded after the race.

The seven-time world champion was given two separate penalties after he performed two practice starts in an incorrect area before the race started.

However, Hamilton asked Mercedes if he was allowed to do that – as he had his suspicions – and the team gave him the go-ahead.

The FIA later took away Hamilton’s penalty points and instead handed Mercedes a £22,000 fine for the illegal action.

“The Stewards received information from the team that the driver of car 44 had received a team instruction to perform the practice start in the incorrect place,” the FIA stewards’ statement read.

“This was confirmed by the stewards having listened to the audio between the team and the driver.

“Based on the information the stewards replace document 47 with this decision and therefore remove the penalty points imposed.”

The £22,000,000 that Mercedes had to pay turned out to be the largest fine any constructor had to pay throughout the 2020 Formula One season.

The Silver Arrows were also forced to pay £18,000 later in the season at the Sakhir Grand Prix when an incident in the pit lane ended up with George Russell having Valtteri Bottas’ front tyres on his Mercedes car.

Russell, who was replacing Hamilton that weekend due to the reigning champion testing positive for coronavirus, looked as if he was on his way to a maiden grand prix victory.

The Williams driver was leading Bottas by five seconds when Jack Aitken spun his car, losing his front wing in the process and causing a Safety Car.

Mercedes then chose to pit both their cars to try and gain an advantage in the precautionary period, but it was a move that massively backfired.

The Silver Arrows’ pit crew put Bottas’ two front tyres on Russell’s car, which is illegal, and the team were fined €20,000 by stewards after the race.

The 22-year-old Brit ended up finishing in ninth-place after a late puncture and a fastest lap meant he picked up three points.

Kimi Raikkonen was the driver with the most offences in 2020, with the Alfa Romeo driver accumulating four fines in total, but had to pay just €2,400 altogether.

Despite some of these hefty fines, the FIA only handed out €58,200 worth of punishment in the 2020 season, which is a substantial amount more than the €124,400 they took the year before.

Hamilton may have had the biggest fine of the campaign, but the Brit secured his seventh F1 title – equalling Michael Schumacher’s record along the way.

The 36-year-old Mercedes star’s efforts were so great that he was crowned BBC’s Sports Personality of the Year for 2020.

Hamilton was then awarded with arguably the biggest honour when he was knighted in the UK’s New Year Honours List.

Toto Wolff, the Mercedes Team Principal and CEO heaped praise on the Formula 1 great: “Lewis is one of the very greatest racing drivers of all-time and the most successful British sportsperson of his era.

“Around the world, he has long been recognised for his sporting achievement; this year, he combined his excellence on the track with a powerful voice to fight discrimination. In every sense, he led the way in 2020.”