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Stewards explain lighter Leclerc penalty that angered Hamilton

F1 stewards halved Charles Leclerc's penalty for his first-lap move on Lewis Hamilton in Mexico, a call that left the Ferrari team-mates at odds.

Charles Leclerc's red and white Ferrari F1 car, number 16, passing the pit garages and a yellow advertising board
Charles Leclerc's Ferrari on the start-finish straight at the 2026 British Grand Prix at Silverstone. Photo: Jason Puddephatt.jpg), CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

The FIA stewards have explained why Charles Leclerc received only a five-second penalty for passing Ferrari team-mate Lewis Hamilton off the track on the first lap of the Mexico City Grand Prix.

The usual penalty is 10 seconds. Hamilton, who started from pole, said on the radio that the lighter punishment was handing Leclerc the win.

What happened at turn 4

Hamilton held the lead through the first three corners, with Leclerc alongside after starting third.

Leclerc then went around the outside at turn 4. Both cars ran off the track, and Leclerc cut across the corner and rejoined in the lead.

He did not give the place back to Hamilton.

The stewards' reasoning

The stewards ruled that both Ferraris arrived at turn 4 too fast for either to make the corner on the track. Their report said: "Car 16 was therefore not entitled to claim the corner due to the excessive entry speed."

Because Leclerc completed the pass while off the track, he was penalised. The stewards cut the penalty from 10 to five seconds because Hamilton had also gone off on the inside, and because it happened early on the first lap.

Hamilton's frustration

Leclerc used the clear track ahead to build a gap, which Hamilton complained about on the radio. He wanted his team-mate to give the place back.

Hamilton lost momentum in the opening laps and was passed by Max Verstappen, who then jumped ahead of Leclerc at the first round of pit stops.

How it ended

The race was red-flagged on lap 46. Leclerc lost two places at the restart and finished fourth, while Hamilton chased Verstappen to the flag and came home second.

Verstappen won, and Kimi Antonelli's third place made him world champion. For Ferrari, a race that began with its cars first and third on the grid ended with second and fourth.

Race it on Late Brake

Mexico City is not one of Late Brake's circuits, but braking too late into a corner costs time on any track. Try the braking boards on the six real circuits in the free browser game, starting with Interlagos, where the season goes next, and race your own ghost to find the limit.

Sources: Autosport, The Race, Motorsport.com, BBC Sport

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