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.”
It's a 10-second time penalty for Lewis Hamilton for leaving the track and gaining an advantage at Turn Four whilst battling Max Verstappen ⚠️ pic.twitter.com/9e6CCHHBpP
— Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) October 26, 2025
As a result of the penalty, the Ferrari driver dropped down the order and eventually finished eighth.
After the race, a downbeat Hamilton said: “It was fun at the start, didn’t end up the way I hoped, but that’s motor racing.”
Asked about the incident, he said: “[It was] very dirty off-line, I did the best I could to bring it back to the track safely.”
Lando Norris won the 71-lap race, with Hamilton’s teammate Charles Leclerc finishing second and Max Verstappen in third.
