News Summary
- Max Verstappen accused Formula 1’s stewards of double standards after Charles Leclerc escaped an immediate penalty for overtaking Lewis Hamilton outside the track limits in Mexico.
- Previously unbroadcast radio messages reveal Verstappen repeatedly demanding action, before questioning the eventual five-second penalty.
- The FIA explained that Hamilton had also left the circuit, reducing Leclerc’s punishment from the usual ten seconds to five.
Max Verstappen launched a furious attack on the FIA’s handling of Charles Leclerc’s opening-lap incident at the 2026 Mexico City Grand Prix, accusing the stewards of applying different standards to drivers. Previously unbroadcast radio messages, revealed on Tuesday (November 3), show the Red Bull driver repeatedly demanding that Leclerc return the position gained outside the track limits before expressing disbelief at the delay in reaching a decision.
The four-time world champion eventually won Sunday’s race, but the newly released exchanges reveal that he was deeply frustrated with the stewards long before the five-second penalty was announced.
Verstappen demands immediate action against Leclerc
The controversy began during the opening lap at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez.
Lewis Hamilton started from pole position, but Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc challenged him through the opening sequence of corners.
Both drivers ran wide at Turn 4, with Leclerc crossing the grass before rejoining ahead.
Verstappen also took advantage of the confrontation, moving ahead of Hamilton into second place.
The Dutchman immediately argued that Leclerc had gained an unfair advantage.
“Yeah, Charles has to give that position. Position now or penalty,” Verstappen said on the first lap.
Race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase acknowledged the message, but Verstappen continued demanding action.
On the following lap, he repeated his position.
“Position now. Penalty otherwise.”
Lambiase replied that Red Bull was monitoring the situation and pointed to the specific instructions issued before the race.
“Yeah, we’re on it, Max. Should’ve been given back by Turn 12,” the engineer explained.
The reference concerned the race director’s instructions requiring drivers who gained an advantage by leaving the track between Turns 4 and 6 to surrender that advantage before reaching Turn 12.
Leclerc did not return the position.
Verstappen accuses FIA of applying different standards
By the third lap, Verstappen’s frustration had intensified.
With Leclerc still leading and no penalty announced, the Red Bull driver suggested that the stewards would have acted much more quickly if he had committed the same infringement.
“If it was me in the lead, I would have had a penalty already by now. What a fking joke,”** Verstappen complained.
His accusation centred on the perceived inconsistency of the stewards’ response rather than the existence of the infringement itself.
Two laps later, Verstappen again requested an update.
Lambiase informed him that the incident was under investigation.
However, the decision was not communicated to the Red Bull driver until lap 13.
By that stage, Leclerc had established a lead over Verstappen and Hamilton, benefiting from running in clean air.
Verstappen questions why Leclerc received only five seconds
When Lambiase finally informed Verstappen that Leclerc had received a five-second penalty, the Dutchman questioned the severity of the sanction.
“I thought all the new penalties were 10 right now?” he asked.
The FIA’s guidelines established a baseline penalty of ten seconds for leaving the circuit and gaining a lasting advantage.
However, the stewards determined that mitigating circumstances justified reducing the sanction.
Hamilton had also gone off track on the inside of Leclerc at Turn 4, while the incident occurred during the opening lap.
The officials concluded that neither Ferrari driver would have been able to negotiate the corner within the track limits because both had entered too quickly.
Nevertheless, Leclerc had completed an overtake outside the circuit and therefore deserved a penalty.
The five-second sanction was subsequently served during his first pit stop, allowing Verstappen to take the lead.
Hamilton also criticised the FIA’s decision
Verstappen was not the only driver unhappy with the handling of the incident.
Hamilton repeatedly complained that the penalty was insufficient because Leclerc had gained the advantage of running in clean air.
The seven-time world champion argued that the five-second sanction did not compensate for the time his teammate could build while leading the race.
Hamilton subsequently accused Leclerc of costing Ferrari victory.
The British driver also questioned the mentality behind Leclerc’s aggressive approach and called for clearer rules governing competition between Ferrari teammates.
Leclerc, meanwhile, acknowledged that his penalty was justified but argued that both Ferrari drivers had made mistakes during the opening-lap battle.
The Monegasque explained that Verstappen’s move into second place had complicated the possibility of immediately returning the position to Hamilton.
Verstappen also criticises Safety Car timing
The previously unbroadcast radio exchanges revealed another moment of frustration later in the race.
When the Safety Car was deployed following Valtteri Bottas’s heavy accident, Lambiase instructed Verstappen to enter the pits.
However, the Dutchman had already passed the pit entry and was unable to respond.
Verstappen complained about the timing of the intervention, arguing that race control had previously taken longer to deploy the Safety Car in similar situations.
The subsequent red flag allowed all drivers to change tyres, reducing the strategic disadvantage.
Verstappen ultimately retained the lead and held off Hamilton to win the Mexican Grand Prix by 0.799 seconds.
The victory was his third of the 2026 season and strengthened his position in the battle for second place in the Drivers’ Championship.
Verstappen praises Antonelli after demanding Mexican GP win
Despite his frustrations during the race, Verstappen was delighted with the result.
He described the victory as one of the most difficult of his season, praising Red Bull’s strategy and execution during a chaotic afternoon.
After the chequered flag, Lambiase informed Verstappen that Andrea Kimi Antonelli had finished third and secured the Drivers’ World Championship.
The Dutchman congratulated the Mercedes driver and praised his achievement.
Verstappen subsequently described Antonelli’s historic championship as extraordinary.
Formula 1 returns this weekend for the São Paulo Grand Prix on November 6–8, where Verstappen will attempt to continue his late-season recovery.
The Mexican Grand Prix radio messages, however, have added another chapter to the debate surrounding the consistency of FIA stewarding decisions.
GRANDE PRÊMIO is following every session of the São Paulo Grand Prix this weekend, with breaking news, full coverage and real-time updates in its Formula 1 section.
