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Lewis Hamilton was hit with a costly 10-second time penalty in the Mexico City Grand Prix after an incident with Max Verstappen.
In an early battle for third place, Red Bull’s Verstappen lunged down the inside at turn one – with Hamilton defending valiantly to keep the position.
Yet further down the road at turn four, Hamilton took the outside line and went off-track. Initially, the Brit took the escape road but then cut across the grass, giving him a hefty advantage over Verstappen back on the road. The Dutchman, in the same turn, lost fourth place to Haas’ Ollie Bearman.
As a result of cutting the corner on the escape road, the stewards decided to hit 40-year-old Hamilton with a 10-second time penalty. Although the corner-cutting may have been unavoidable, Hamilton then sped hurriedly down the road, increasing his lead to Verstappen and thus gaining an unfair advantage.
Hamilton was fuming about the penalty, saying over team radio: “That’s such s*** man.
“The grip is so small there, the grip there is so low.”
The Ferrari driver is still chasing his first podium of the season, while 20-year-old Bearman is now in an excellent position to seal Haas’ first-ever podium in Formula One.
Hamilton pitted, serving his penalty, and is now behind Oscar Piastri and both Mercedes drivers on the road, with a net position of eighth.
Lando Norris leads the 71-lap race from pole, with Charles Leclerc in second place. Norris is on course to take the lead in the F1 world championship.
More to follow…
