Ferrari: Vasseur finds Hamilton penalty in Verstappen duel "pretty harsh"

(Motorsport-Total.com) - Before the start of the Mexican Grand Prix at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez in Mexico City, Lewis Hamilton had hoped to secure his first podium finish in his 20th Grand Prix for Ferrari . Starting from third place, the seven-time Formula 1 World Champion was indeed on course for a podium finish for a while. Ultimately, however, he only managed eighth place.

Hamilton fell significantly behind when he received a ten-second time penalty for his conduct in a duel with Max Verstappen (Red Bull). What happened? On lap six, Hamilton and Verstappen were driving side by side toward Turn 4. Hamilton drove to the right, thus on the outside. The wheels of both cars locked, but Verstappen stayed on the track, and Hamilton drove into the emergency exit.

From there, Hamilton returned to the track between Turns 5 and 6, driving across the grass. Because he subsequently had a significantly larger lead over Verstappen than before Turn 4, and he didn't voluntarily relinquish the position, he was given a ten-second penalty. The race stewards cited "leaving the track and gaining an advantage."

A scene with two investigations against Hamilton

The ruling states: "By leaving the track and shortcutting the corner, the driver of car #44 gained a permanent advantage, overtook car #1, and did not relinquish the position thereafter. Therefore, the standard penalty for leaving the track and gaining a permanent advantage is imposed."

Incidentally, Hamilton's behavior was also investigated for the same incident, alleging "failing to follow Race Directors information." On his way back to the track, Hamilton hadn't used the designated asphalt lane, but had instead driven over the grass. However, there was no penalty in this case.

The ruling reads: "Car #44 locked its brakes on the approach to Turn 4 and entered the run-off area. The Stewards determined that the car was traveling too fast for the driver to take the prescribed alternative route and that the driver therefore had reasonable cause to disobey the Clerk of the Course's instruction. Given the circumstances, the Stewards took no further action."

However, the ten-second penalty for "sustained advantage" was imposed. Hamilton served the penalty during his first pit stop. In his subsequent recovery, characterized by a two-stop strategy, he managed to move up to eighth place. However, he was unable to gain more than the four championship points for this position. Verstappen finished in third place.

"Off the racing line, it's very, very dirty there. I tried my best to get the car back on track safely," Hamilton explained to Sky after the race. His conclusion: "At least we managed to score a few points. It didn't turn out the way I hoped, but that's racing."

Verstappen remains unpunished - twice

During his media briefing, Hamilton was a bit more specific. He referred to what happened before the Turn 4 scene. Immediately after the start, Hamilton was sandwiched between Lando Norris (to his right) and Charles Leclerc (to his left) on the approach to Turn 1. Max Verstappen was again driving to Leclerc's left, already on the curb.

Both Verstappen and Leclerc, as well as Kimi Antonelli, Liam Lawson, and Carlos Sainz, went straight through the grass at Turn 1 and only returned to the track at Turn 3. None of these five drivers received a penalty. The incident was never even investigated.

Hamilton recalls: "I had a great start and we braked for Turn 1. I drove through Turns 1, 2, and 3 and didn't go off the track. Others took shortcuts, held their position, and didn't get any penalties. It's pretty crazy."

What's more, on the sixth lap, Hamilton and Verstappen had a close duel in Turns 1 to 3 just before the Turn 4 incident. On this occasion, it was Verstappen who drove through the grass, thus shortcutting Turn 3. But in this case, too, there was no penalty—just as in the first lap.

"That was racing, that was fine," says Hamilton, but immediately adds: "It was just that he took a shortcut, but I was the only one who got a ten-second penalty, ten seconds of stop-and-go."

Vasseur: "I don't think it was handled correctly"

Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur has a clear opinion on the penalty imposed on Hamilton and the non-penalty for Verstappen. "I find it very strange, because Max cut into Turn 3," Vasseur told Sky at the start of lap six. "He didn't get a penalty, but we got ten seconds."

"I think the penalty is pretty harsh," said Vasseur, "because it put us behind the entire group. And because overtaking is so difficult in Mexico, [the penalty] cost us the race. But I don't want to play the football coach who gets upset about everything."

What Vasseur also said, however, during his media briefing: "The penalty probably cost us P4. If it had been five seconds, we probably would have finished fourth. But with ten seconds... If you look at the overall picture, namely that Max cut the chicane for 100 meters on the grass, I honestly don't think that was handled correctly."