Ferrari’s team principal, Fred Vasseur, unleashed a scathing attack on Formula 1’s stewards after Lewis Hamilton was hit with a controversial 10-second penalty during the Mexican Grand Prix—a decision that effectively erased any hope of a podium finish for the British driver and left Ferrari fuming.
After an unexpectedly strong qualifying session that saw both Ferrari drivers line up in P2 and P3, the Scuderia entered the race with renewed optimism. But chaos erupted almost immediately when Hamilton and teammate Charles Leclerc clashed at Turn 1, leaving the door open for Max Verstappen to capitalize. Their early duel spiraled into controversy, with Hamilton later accused of gaining an advantage off-track after a close encounter with Verstappen on lap six.
The stewards’ verdict was swift but brutal—a 10-second time penalty that Vasseur deemed “excessive” and “poorly handled.” The Ferrari boss fumed in his post-race interview, arguing that similar incidents involving Verstappen earlier in the race had gone unpunished. “Max cut the corner before, on the grass, and nothing happened. Ten seconds? I can’t remember the last time someone got that,” Vasseur blasted, accusing race control of inconsistency and mismanagement.
He went on to highlight how Mexico’s tight circuit magnified the punishment, noting that once Hamilton fell to the back of the pack, recovery was virtually impossible. “You can’t overtake here. That penalty destroyed our race. Even with five seconds, we’d have been P4,” Vasseur lamented, calling for more “contextual judgment” when penalties are issued on tracks with known overtaking limitations.
Despite a spirited recovery drive that saw Hamilton salvage eighth place on a two-stop strategy, both he and Vasseur were left disillusioned. Hamilton himself admitted he felt “let down by the FIA”, suggesting the ruling exposed a double standard within Formula 1’s penalty system. For Ferrari, the Mexico Grand Prix ended not with celebration—but with bitterness, disbelief, and a renewed war of words against the sport’s governing body.
