Max Verstappen has backed Lewis Hamilton’s criticism of the penalty handed to Charles Leclerc at the 2026 Mexico City Grand Prix, arguing that the Ferrari driver should have received a ten-second sanction rather than five seconds. Despite benefiting from the controversial opening-lap incident and ultimately winning the race, the Red Bull driver questioned why the stewards had imposed a lighter punishment than he expected.
The disagreement centred on Charles Leclerc’s attempt to overtake Lewis Hamilton at Turn 4, where both Ferrari drivers left the circuit and Max Verstappen seized the opportunity to move into second place. The Dutchman later inherited the lead when Leclerc served his five-second penalty, but maintained that the decision raised questions about how drivers should return positions after gaining an advantage off the track.
Max Verstappen questions Charles Leclerc’s five-second penalty in Mexico
Max Verstappen was particularly surprised by the severity of the punishment imposed on Charles Leclerc. The Red Bull driver believed that an infringement of this nature would normally result in a ten-second penalty and struggled to understand why the stewards had reduced the sanction to five seconds on this occasion.
His assessment echoed the frustration expressed by Lewis Hamilton during the race. The seven-time world champion had complained over Ferrari team radio that Leclerc’s punishment did not adequately compensate for the advantage of running in clean air at the front of the field.
Verstappen agreed with Hamilton’s view that the penalty should have been more severe, despite the fact that the five-second sanction had already worked in his favour during the battle for victory.
The decision became one of the central controversies of the Grand Prix, with the FIA’s explanation of Charles Leclerc’s reduced penalty providing further context for the difference between the standard sanction and the punishment actually imposed.
Why Max Verstappen disagreed with Charles Leclerc’s position explanation
Another point of disagreement concerned how Charles Leclerc should have responded immediately after leaving the track during his attempted overtake.
The Ferrari driver explained that he would have returned the position to Lewis Hamilton straight away if his team-mate had remained in second place. However, Max Verstappen’s opportunistic move had changed the running order, leaving the Red Bull driver between the two Ferraris and making the situation more complicated.
When presented with Leclerc’s explanation, Verstappen rejected the idea that the intervention of another competitor should prevent the original position from being restored.
The Dutchman argued that a driver who gains an advantage by leaving the circuit should return the place to the competitor who lost it. Applied to the circumstances in Mexico, his interpretation meant that Leclerc should have been prepared to surrender two positions if necessary to restore Hamilton’s place in the order.
That difference in interpretation was particularly significant because Hamilton had lost ground to both drivers during the opening-lap confrontation. The circumstances behind Charles Leclerc’s decision not to give the position back consequently became another important aspect of Ferrari’s post-race discussions.
Lewis Hamilton’s opening-lap battle costs Ferrari track position
The controversy began as Lewis Hamilton defended his position against Charles Leclerc at Turn 4 on the opening lap of the Mexico City Grand Prix.
With the two Ferrari drivers battling for position, neither managed to remain within the track limits. Max Verstappen took immediate advantage of the situation, overtaking Hamilton to claim second place while Leclerc continued at the front.
The stewards subsequently penalised the Monegasque for the advantage gained by leaving the circuit. However, the five-second sanction did not immediately restore the positions lost by Hamilton, who remained behind Verstappen.
Leclerc’s penalty eventually influenced the lead battle when the Ferrari driver served it during his pit stop. Verstappen was able to move ahead, turning the opening-lap opportunity into a decisive advantage over the Scuderia.
The sequence demonstrated how the initial confrontation affected the running order beyond the first few corners. The changing positions of the leading drivers throughout the Grand Prix can also be examined using the F1 Race Position and Progression Tracker.
Lewis Hamilton challenges Max Verstappen after Mexico GP red flag
Although Max Verstappen gained the lead, his victory was far from secure when the race was interrupted following Valtteri Bottas’ crash.
The incident caused damage to the barriers and prompted a red flag, bringing the field back together for the restart. Verstappen was leading at the time, but Lewis Hamilton emerged as his main challenger when racing resumed.
The Ferrari driver returned to second place and immediately attacked the Red Bull at Turn 1. Verstappen defended firmly, with the two cars making contact during the battle.
That confrontation proved to be Hamilton’s strongest opportunity to reclaim the lead. Despite the pressure, Verstappen held his position and went on to win the Mexico City Grand Prix by just eight-tenths of a second.
The narrow margin reinforced the importance of the earlier incident, particularly from Hamilton’s perspective. Having started the race in a strong position, the British driver had been forced to recover ground after the confrontation with his team-mate.
Max Verstappen agrees Ferrari had the stronger car in Mexico
After the race, Lewis Hamilton maintained that Ferrari had possessed the pace required to win the Grand Prix, despite ultimately missing out on victory.
Max Verstappen appeared to share that assessment. Speaking in parc fermé, the race winner acknowledged that Ferrari had been the stronger team on the day, expressing complete confidence in that judgement.
His remarks added another dimension to the result. Although Red Bull secured the victory, Verstappen recognised that the performance advantage had belonged to Ferrari, whose chances were complicated by the opening-lap battle between its drivers.
Hamilton’s disappointment therefore extended beyond the disputed penalty. He believed Ferrari had missed an opportunity to convert its pace into a win, a view he also expressed in his post-race assessment of the lost victory chance.
For Verstappen, the outcome brought a race win but did not change his opinion of the stewards’ decision. He remained convinced that Charles Leclerc should have received a ten-second penalty and that the position lost by Lewis Hamilton should have been restored, even if doing so required the Monegasque to surrender more than one place.
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