Hamilton explains 'dirty' track conditions after ten-second penalty in Mexico

Written by Kavi Khandelwal

Ferrari driver, Lewis Hamilton described his 2025 Mexico City Grand Prix as "frustrating," after an eventful race that saw him investigated for two separate incidents with Max Verstappen. Ultimately, he was handed a costly time penalty.

Credit: Formula One

The driver was a key figure in the race's early action, which began with a "four wide" dash into Turn 1.

Hamilton said: "It was fun at the start, and didn't end up the way I hoped, but that's another story."

That story involved multiple reviews by the Stewards. The first incident occurred on Lap 6, when Verstappen overtook Hamilton on the inside of Turn 1. The two cars made "slight contact" , but officials deemed it a "racing incident" as Verstappen was "entitled to the racing line" and the contact had "no consequences for either car".

However, a second incident at 14:10 in the race led to a significant penalty. Hamilton was handed a 10-second time penalty for breaching Article 33.3 of the Formula One Sporting Regulations.

Stewards determined that after locking his brakes at Turn 4, Hamilton "left the track and cutting the corner". By doing so, he "gained a lasting advantage" by overtaking Verstappen and "failing to give back the position".

When asked about his radio message complaining of no grip, Hamilton confirmed the conditions off the racing line were to blame.

"No, no, it was very, very dirty off-line," Hamilton stated.

Despite this, the "standard penalty" for gaining the advantage stood. Hamilton maintained that given the conditions, he did what he could.

"I did the best I could to keep the car, bring it back to the track safely, and that's all I could hope for".

The penalty, combined with the fact that the circuit is "so tough to overtake" on, meant his hopes for a top result were over. When asked if there were any positives to take from the difficult weekend, Hamilton's summary was brief.

"Yeah, at least some points at least".