Lewis Hamilton defied the odds to triumph in the German Grand Prix on a day of unlikely victories for Mercedes.The British driver overcame his lowest ever starting point of 14th to capitalise on Sebastian Vettel's crash into the barriers, taking a 17-point lead in the standings.Valtteri Bottas came in second having taken the race to Hamilton late on, but Mercedes eventually intervened and secured their first ever 1-2 finish in Germany.With 25 laps to go, heavy rain began to fall and while it only impacted some of the track, it had a significant impact on the race.However, that wasn't the only reason that Hamilton's success was slightly fortuitous.In the aftermath of Vettel's crash, when the safety car was deployed, Hamilton was told to keep pit as he planned to stop for new tyres.When he replied that Kimi Raikkonnen was going to pit in front of him, Mercedes told him "in, in, in, in" frantically over the radio.

The incident in question 

Amidst the confusion, he cut across the grass after the bollard and rejoined the main track.

Plenty of F1 fans pointed out that he ought to have been penalised and while it initially looked as though he had got away with it entirely, he has indeed now been called to the stewards:

These cases usually depend on the circuit and there was no specific reference to the issue in this weekend's regulations. 

Nevertheless, FIA International Sporting Code, Appendix L, Chapter 4, Article 4 d) states:

"Except in cases of force majeure (accepted as such by the stewards), the crossing, in any direction, of the line separating the pit entry and the track by a car entering the pit lane is prohibited."

A precedent has also been set as Raikkonen was given a five-second penalty for doing a similar thing in 2016. Vettel has also been punished in the past.

It will be very interesting to see if Hamilton faces any consequences. 

Should Hamilton have been penalised? Have your say in the comments.