F1 | Jolyon Palmer claims Charles Leclerc deserved a penalty at the Mexican GP. Former F1 driver Jolyon Palmer believes Charles Leclerc should have been penalized at the Mexican GP.

Jolyon Palmer has analyzed the start involving both Ferrari drivers at the Mexican Grand Prix, pointing the finger directly at Charles Leclerc. According to the former Formula 1 driver, the Monegasque should have received a penalty for his actions in the opening moments of the race.

Did Charles Leclerc deserve a penalty at the Mexican GP? The former driver and now F1 TV analyst is convinced he did, and he focused his review on the #16 Ferrari’s move against his teammate.

At the start, Lewis Hamilton got a slightly better getaway than Leclerc, whose Ferrari suffered a bit of wheelspin. The seven-time world champion tried to catch the slipstream of Lando Norris’s McLaren, but Charles  Leclerc moved across to block him, closing the door.

The two Ferrari drivers ran side by side almost up to Turn 2, soon joined by Max Verstappen, who tried to pass around the outside of Leclerc. Finding himself in the middle, Leclerc was forced to go wide and cut across the track before Turn 2, eventually rejoining in the lead of the race.

To avoid a potential penalty, what did he do? Leclerc gave the position back to Norris, but not to Hamilton. “He wasn’t forced off by Lewis – you can see the space that Lewis leaves on exit, going straight,” Palmer explained. “The safest thing to do at that point is to push on, rejoin the track, and then decide who to let by. Basically, you judge yourself. Charles lets Lando through, but not Lewis. That should be a penalty. No doubt.”

According to the British analyst, Charles Leclerc should have given the position back to Lewis Hamilton after gaining an advantage by going off track. Palmer, however, also criticized the race stewards for not paying proper attention to what happened.

“They saw five cars going through there. It was total chaos. Franco Colapinto even spun at the back of the group. There was contact. There was debris on the track. The marshals had to clean it up, another complicated situation. I can imagine the stewards thought the two Ferraris were side by side and finished second and third,” Palmer continued.

He then concluded, “The reality is this: Charles Leclerc overtook Lewis Hamilton off the track and should have been penalized for it.”

Was it a mistake by race control?

In recent years, the FIA has adopted a more lenient approach to incidents in the early stages of a race, particularly those happening in Turn 1. Most of the time, such contacts are considered “racing incidents,” which means the drivers involved are not usually investigated or penalized.