Hamilton was referred to the stewards after Sargeant was forced to take avoiding action at Turn 11, bouncing over the kerbing at high speed.

The Mercedes driver had been cruising through the first sector and was followed by Carlos Sainz, who had nowhere to go in the sinuous section of track.

The Ferrari driver did what he could to move out of the way of the fast-approaching Sargeant, while Hamilton did not.

“The Stewards heard from the driver of Car 44 (Lewis Hamilton), the driver of Car 2 (Logan Sargeant), team representatives and reviewed positioning/marshalling system data, video, team radio and in-car video evidence and determine that Car 44 impeded Car 2 at Turn 11,” the stewards noted in the infringement document.

“As a result, Car 2 had to take evasive action by going off the track to avoid a collision. Had that not been done, there would have been a serious, high speed crash.

“Having listened to the team radio, it was clear to us that the team of Car 44 failed to warn their driver of the fact that Car 2 was arriving on a fast lap.

“That was a serious failure on the part of the team, particularly given the speeds on this circuit and the nature of turn 11, which is at the end of a series of high speed corners where driver visibility is impaired.

“We therefore issue a warning to the driver and impose a fine of €15,000 [AUD $24,800] to the team.”

The incident occurred just six minutes into the session, the start of which was delayed by 10 minutes as work was carried out on loose drain cover bolts in pit lane.

Hamilton ended the session eighth fastest, his running hampered in the final minute after reporting a lack of power from his Mercedes engine.

Sargeant, meanwhile, was 16th best at 1.107s off the pace laid down by Fernando Alonso, who topped the session.