Lauda: Hamilton should be punished

Hamilton crashed out of the Canadian Grand Prix after an accident with team-mate Jenson Button as they battled for position on the start-finish straight early in the race.

The incident resulted in Hamilton swiping the pit wall, and the damage to the left rear of his car meant he could not continue.

The Button/Hamilton collision is to be investigated by the race stewards after the end of the race - and it comes just a fortnight after Hamilton was hit with two drive-through penalties in Monaco for his part in crashes there.

But now, after his crash with Button and a first corner incident in Montreal with Mark Webber, Lauda thinks that the governing body needs to do something.

"What Hamilton did there goes beyond all boundaries," Lauda said during his commentary on RTL television. "He is completely mad.

"If the FIA does not punish him, I do not understand the world any more. At some point there has to be an end to all the jokes. You cannot drive like this - as it will result in someone getting killed."

Lauda's comments come just hours after former world champion Emerson Fittipaldi, who is a race steward in Montreal, suggested that Hamilton needed to temper his aggression.

"I think Lewis is an exceptional talent, a world champion, but sometimes he is too aggressive when he tries to overtake," Fittipaldi said in an interview with Brazilian website Totalrace. "It was like that in Monaco with Felipe [Massa], placing half of the car in the sidewalk and putting Felipe in a difficult position, at least.

"He put Felipe in a dangerous position, really. I think there has to be a limit for being aggressive, respecting the others and still being competitive. You can be competitive, but you have to respect the others."