LEWIS HAMILTON BLASTS "PRETTY NUTS" 10-SECOND PENALTY AFTER MEXICO CITY GP DUEL WITH VERSTAPPEN

HAMILTON Lewis (gbr), Scuderia Ferrari SF-25, portrait during the Formula 1 Pirelli Grand Prix du Canada 2025, 10th round of the 2025 FIA Formula One World Championship from June 14 to 16, 2025 on the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, in Montréal, Canada - Photo Xavi Bonilla / DPPI

Lewis Hamilton has criticised the 10-second time penalty he received during the Mexico City Grand Prix, calling the decision “pretty nuts” after it cost him a potential first podium finish with Ferrari.

The seven-time world champion was penalised for leaving the track and gaining an advantage during a fierce battle with Max Verstappen on Sunday at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez.

The Incident

The flashpoint occurred on lap 18 as Hamilton and Verstappen fought for third place. Hamilton locked up under braking into Turn 4, ran across the grass, and rejoined the track ahead of his rival. In the chaos, Haas rookie Oliver Bearman briefly overtook Verstappen before the order stabilised.

Hamilton retained third position on track, but stewards deemed he had gained an advantage by cutting the corner. The 10-second penalty, served during his pit stop, dropped him out of podium contention and he ultimately finished eighth.

“Didn’t Make Sense”

Hamilton was left frustrated by the decision, arguing that other drivers including teammate Charles Leclerc and Verstappen himself had gone off track earlier in the race without facing similar punishment.

“I mean, that’s pretty much the same as all the other people around me, so… didn’t make sense,” Hamilton told reporters post-race.

“I had a great start. You’re braking into Turn 1, I was into P2, I navigated through Turns 1, 2, and 3. I didn’t go off track. Others cut it and held position and didn’t get penalties. It was pretty nuts.”

Hamilton was also investigated for multiple wheel-to-wheel incidents with Verstappen, including light contact at Turn 1 moments before his off-track excursion.

“It felt like racing,” he said. “I was fine there; it was just the cutting, and then I’m the only one to get a 10-second penalty. It was kind of nuts. Ten seconds stop and go.

“I went to go down the exit road, but it’s like the dustiest place on earth, and I couldn’t slow the car down, so I ended up patting the grass. But that’s the exit road.”

“That’s Motor Racing”

Speaking to Sky Sports F1 after the race, Hamilton gave a short but pointed interview, reflecting on what might have been.

“Itwas fun at the start, and it didn’t end up the way I’d hoped. That’s motor racing,” he said. “It’s very, very dirty offline, and I did the best I could to bring the car back to the track safely. That’s all I could hope for.

“Yes, there are some positives we got some points, at least.”

The result extends Hamilton’s podium drought with Ferrari to 19 Grands Prix, breaking a 43-year-old record previously held by Didier Pironi for the longest wait to reach the rostrum after joining the Scuderia.

Still, Hamilton remains optimistic that a breakthrough is coming and with five races left in the 2025 season, he’ll have more chances to end that streak.

- James Rees

GEORGE RUSSELL & FERRARI BOSS NOT HAPPY FIA IS LETTING VERSTAPPEN GET AWAY WITH NO PENALTY | MEXICO GRAND PRIX 2025

MCLAREN'S LANDO NORRIS WINS IN MEXICO TO TAKE F1 LEAD FROM OSCAR PIASTRI

McLaren's Lando Norris celebrates after winning the Mexico City Grand Prix.

PHOTO: REUTERS

MEXICO CITY - McLaren's Lando Norris avoided early mayhem to cruise to a dominant Mexico City Grand Prix win and retake the Formula One championship lead by a single point from teammate Oscar Piastri on Oct 26.

Australian Piastri, who started the race seventh and 14 points clear of the Briton, finished fifth after a virtual safety car in the last two laps denied him a shot at fourth after a thrilling chase.

Charles Leclerc was runner-up for Ferrari, a hefty 30.3 seconds adrift of Norris, while Red Bull's reigning champion Max Verstappen took third – just 0.7 behind the Monegasque.

Norris, who started from pole position and led every lap, now has 357 points to Piastri's 356 with Verstappen on 321 and four rounds remaining.

"What a race. I could just keep my eyes focused and forward and focus on what I was doing," said Norris, who was booed by the home crowd for reasons that remained unclear.

"A pretty straightforward race for me which is just what I was after. A good start, a good launch, a good first lap and I could go from there."

Norris last led the standings in April, a gap of 189 days, and had not won a race since Hungary in early August. Oct 26 was his sixth victory of the season, one less than Piastri, and career 10th.

"I felt like the whole race I was right behind someone and struggling with the dirty air. That was pretty difficult," said Piastri.

"Today was about trying to limit the damage, but also trying to learn some things about that. If I've made some progress with that I'll be happy."

Oliver Bearman was fourth for Haas, a best result for the Briton and also the United States-owned team, and was 1.1 seconds clear of Piastri at a chequered flag waved by former heavyweight boxing champion Evander Holyfield.

"I held off Max in the first stint, I held off the Mercs in the second, and I held off the McLaren in the third one," the rookie said.

"I spent more time looking in my rear view mirrors than in front. But that's sometimes how it has to be."

Kimi Antonelli was sixth for Mercedes, with teammate George Russell seventh and Lewis Hamilton eighth for Ferrari after a 10-second penalty dropped him from third and dashed his hopes of a first podium for the team he joined in January.

Esteban Ocon was ninth, making a double points finish for Haas, and Sauber's Gabriel Bortoleto took the final point.

The top three all completed the race on a one-stop strategy, while Bearman, Piastri and the Mercedes drivers all pitted twice.

Ferrari moved back into second place, a point ahead of Mercedes, in a constructors' championship already won by McLaren but with a tight scrap for the runner-up slot.

Norris made a clean start from pole when the lights went out but was caught in a four-way tussle down the long run to turn one, with Verstappen cutting the corner and bumping over the grass.

Leclerc then cut turn two, giving the place back to Norris who emerged from the chaos ahead while Verstappen gained a place in fourth to the intense irritation of Russell.

"I got squeezed like crazy," said Verstappen over the team radio as Russell, who started fourth, called in vain for the four-time world champion to hand the place back.

A scary incident saw Racing Bulls' Liam Lawson, who came in for a new front wing on lap three, accelerate out of the pits as two marshals ran across the track in front of him.

Verstappen and third-placed Hamilton made contact on lap six as they went side by side with the Red Bull driver trying to go past at turn one but ending up cutting the next corner.

Hamilton went off at turn four, cutting back across the grass, and was handed a penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage.

Bearman meanwhile climbed to fourth, from ninth at the start, and looked on for a podium once Hamilton took his penalty on lap 24 only to be reeled in by Verstappen.

While Norris enjoyed a calm afternoon in the sunshine, Piastri had to fight back from a low of 11th after his first stop, passing Antonelli in the pits and Russell on track.

The virtual safety car was deployed after Williams' Carlos Sainz, the 2024 winner for Ferrari, spun and stopped on track on the penultimate lap with smoke coming from it. 

- REUTERS

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