Hamilton Demands Action Against Multiple Cars for Alleged Rules Violation

Lewis Hamilton fumes as rivals “cheat” at wild Mexico GP start

Lewis Hamilton couldn’t hide his frustration after several drivers cut the first corner during the chaotic start of the Mexico City Grand Prix.

Max Verstappen, Charles Leclerc and Andrea Kimi Antonelli were among many who went off track at the notoriously tricky Turn 1 at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.

Verstappen quickly surrendered his position to Hamilton after rejoining ahead of him. But Leclerc? He came back on track in first place ahead of Norris, only giving the lead back to McLaren while keeping second position ahead of Hamilton.

This triggered a series of increasingly heated radio messages from Hamilton, who believed he should’ve been ahead of his Ferrari teammate.

“I was ahead of Charles,” Hamilton radioed on the very first lap.

His race engineer Adami simply replied: “Understood.”

The frustration was just beginning. By lap 2, Hamilton was pointing out more infractions: “Max took a shortcut. Loads of people gained advantage.”

“What are they doing about the cars?” Hamilton pressed on lap 3.

When told the incidents were “noted,” Hamilton’s patience started wearing thin.

Things got even messier on lap 6 when Hamilton battled Verstappen from Turn 1 to Turn 4. Both drivers pushed each other wide in the first two corners before Hamilton locked up at Turn 4, going straight on and rejoining ahead of Verstappen.

“I got pushed wide,” Hamilton explained.

But it was Hamilton who would end up penalized. On lap 19, his race engineer delivered the bad news: “We have 10 seconds penalty for the incident turn four with Verstappen. We don’t agree, but let’s keep the head down.”

Hamilton was livid.

“That’s such **** man. The grip is so small there, the grip there is so low.”

By lap 22, his frustration boiled over: “What about all the other cars that cheated?”

When Hamilton asked if anyone else had received penalties, his engineer confirmed: “Not at the moment.”

“That’s ridiculous, mate,” Hamilton shot back.

Even several laps later, he couldn’t let it go: “10 second stop-and-go is insane.”

The penalty ultimately dropped Hamilton to 8th place, costing him what could have been a podium finish with Ferrari. After the race, he called the stewards’ decision “pretty nuts.”

The inconsistent application of penalties has once again raised questions about how track limits are enforced in Formula 1. With multiple drivers cutting corners at the start but only Hamilton receiving a significant penalty, it’s likely this conversation is far from over.