{"id":4669,"date":"2026-10-31T11:40:00","date_gmt":"2026-10-31T14:40:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/?p=4669"},"modified":"2026-10-31T11:14:16","modified_gmt":"2026-10-31T14:14:16","slug":"verstappen-and-lawson-handed-mexican-gp-grid-penalties-after-f1-practice-collision","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/f1\/verstappen-and-lawson-handed-mexican-gp-grid-penalties-after-f1-practice-collision\/","title":{"rendered":"Verstappen and Lawson handed Mexican GP grid penalties after F1 practice collision"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">News Summary<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Max Verstappen and Liam Lawson received one-place grid penalties<\/strong> following their collision during Friday&#8217;s second practice session at the 2026 Mexico City Grand Prix.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Both drivers were also given one penalty point on their FIA super licences<\/strong>, with the stewards ruling that their conduct was unacceptable and unnecessary.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Verstappen criticised Lawson&#8217;s judgement and referred to his uncertain Formula 1 future, while Racing Bulls team principal Alan Permane blamed both drivers for the incident.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Max Verstappen and Liam Lawson will each lose <strong>one position on the starting grid for Sunday&#8217;s (1) Mexico City Grand Prix<\/strong> after the FIA punished both drivers for their collision during Friday&#8217;s (30) second free practice session. The Red Bull and Racing Bulls drivers made contact in the stadium section of the Aut\u00f3dromo Hermanos Rodr\u00edguez, damaging both cars and forcing a brief red-flag interruption.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The stewards investigated the incident after the session and concluded that <strong>both drivers had acted in an unacceptable manner<\/strong>, particularly after teams had been warned about unnecessary confrontations during free practice. In addition to their grid penalties, Verstappen and Lawson received one penalty point each on their super licences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Verstappen and Lawson collide in Mexico&#8217;s stadium section<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The incident occurred during the early stages of FP2, when Verstappen and Lawson were attempting to recover track time after sitting out the opening practice session.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Red Bull had handed Verstappen&#8217;s car to Ayumu Iwasa during FP1, while Racing Bulls gave Nikola Tsolov an opportunity to make his Formula 1 practice debut in Lawson&#8217;s car.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Both regular drivers therefore returned to the cockpit for FP2 with additional running to complete.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Verstappen approached Lawson through the final sector and attempted to overtake the New Zealander into Turn 12.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Lawson subsequently tried to regain the position at the following left-hand corner, with the two drivers running alongside each other through the stadium section.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Verstappen bounced across the kerb and rejoined alongside Lawson, resulting in contact between the Red Bull and Racing Bulls.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The collision damaged the floor of Verstappen&#8217;s car and the front wing of Lawson&#8217;s machine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Debris was scattered across the circuit, prompting Race Control to suspend the session briefly while marshals cleared the track.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Both drivers were able to return to the pits and subsequently resume their practice programmes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Verstappen eventually finished fifth, 0.311s behind Ferrari&#8217;s Charles Leclerc, while Lawson placed ninth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Verstappen-FP2-Mexico-ES-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1020319676\" srcset=\"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Verstappen-FP2-Mexico-ES-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Verstappen-FP2-Mexico-ES-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Verstappen-FP2-Mexico-ES-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Verstappen-FP2-Mexico-ES-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Verstappen-FP2-Mexico-ES-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Verstappen-FP2-Mexico-ES-150x100.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Max Verstappen (Photo: Red Bull Content Pool)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">FIA hands both drivers one-place grid penalties<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The stewards summoned Verstappen and Lawson after FP2 to investigate the circumstances of the collision.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Officials examined video footage, telemetry and the accounts provided by both drivers before determining that neither had behaved appropriately.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The investigation established that Verstappen had been completing a preparation lap while Lawson was on a cooldown lap ahead of another qualifying simulation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The stewards considered the actions of both drivers unnecessary, particularly because the incident occurred during a practice session rather than a competitive race situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Both drivers acknowledged during the investigation that their manoeuvres had been unnecessary and clumsy.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The FIA also highlighted that team representatives had received a warning earlier on Friday about similar conduct.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Previous incidents during practice sessions had generally resulted in formal warnings, but the stewards decided that a stronger sanction was justified.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Consequently, <strong>Verstappen and Lawson were each handed a one-place grid drop and one penalty point<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">FIA penalties \u2014 Mexico City Grand Prix<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-fixed-layout\"><tbody><tr><th>Driver<\/th><th>Team<\/th><th>Grid penalty<\/th><th>Super licence points<\/th><\/tr><tr><td>M. VERSTAPPEN<\/td><td>Red Bull<\/td><td>1 place<\/td><td>+1<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>L. LAWSON<\/td><td>Racing Bulls<\/td><td>1 place<\/td><td>+1<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The grid penalties apply to Sunday&#8217;s race and will be taken into account when the final starting order is established after qualifying and any additional sanctions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" src=\"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/f1-2026-mexico-cidade-do-mexico-media-day-racing-bulls-liam-lawson-01-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"F1 2026, M\u00c9XICO, CIDADE DO M\u00c9XICO, MEDIA DAY, RACING BULLS, LIAM LAWSON\" class=\"wp-image-1020319593\" srcset=\"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/f1-2026-mexico-cidade-do-mexico-media-day-racing-bulls-liam-lawson-01-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/f1-2026-mexico-cidade-do-mexico-media-day-racing-bulls-liam-lawson-01-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/f1-2026-mexico-cidade-do-mexico-media-day-racing-bulls-liam-lawson-01-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/f1-2026-mexico-cidade-do-mexico-media-day-racing-bulls-liam-lawson-01-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/f1-2026-mexico-cidade-do-mexico-media-day-racing-bulls-liam-lawson-01-1200x675.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/f1-2026-mexico-cidade-do-mexico-media-day-racing-bulls-liam-lawson-01-150x84.jpg 150w, https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/f1-2026-mexico-cidade-do-mexico-media-day-racing-bulls-liam-lawson-01.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Liam Lawson (Photo: F1)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Verstappen criticises Lawson and questions his judgement<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Verstappen made his frustration clear after the session, arguing that Lawson had taken an unnecessary risk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The four-time world champion rejected the suggestion that the collision had simply been an unfortunate racing incident.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>&#8220;Maybe not very smart behaviour what he was trying to do there,&#8221;<\/strong> Verstappen said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Red Bull driver also referred directly to Lawson&#8217;s uncertain position within the team&#8217;s driver programme.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>&#8220;Also when you&#8217;re fighting for your seat, it&#8217;s not very smart behaviour,&#8221;<\/strong> he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Verstappen insisted that the contact would not fundamentally change his weekend, despite the damage sustained by his car.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Lawson, meanwhile, had reacted angrily over the radio immediately after the collision, accusing Verstappen of driving into him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The confrontation was particularly notable because both drivers are part of Red Bull&#8217;s Formula 1 operation and previously raced as teammates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Lawson briefly partnered Verstappen at the senior team before returning to Racing Bulls, where his future remains uncertain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Racing Bulls boss criticises both drivers<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Racing Bulls team principal Alan Permane refused to place responsibility exclusively on either driver.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The British engineer described the collision as unnecessary and suggested that both competitors should have exercised better judgement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>&#8220;Completely unnecessary, and I say that to both of them,&#8221;<\/strong> Permane said when discussing the incident.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He added that Verstappen and Lawson could both have handled the situation more effectively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The comments came amid continuing uncertainty over Racing Bulls&#8217; 2027 driver line-up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The team has not confirmed its drivers for next season, while Tsolov&#8217;s appearance in FP1 provided another opportunity to evaluate a potential candidate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Bulgarian finished his first Formula 1 practice outing approximately one tenth behind teammate Arvid Lindblad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Verstappen&#8217;s remarks therefore added another dimension to an already sensitive situation for Lawson, who is attempting to retain his position within the Red Bull driver structure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Verstappen&#8217;s penalty complicates Red Bull&#8217;s fight against Ferrari<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The grid penalty represents an additional challenge for Verstappen as Red Bull attempts to close the gap to Ferrari, McLaren and Mercedes in Mexico City.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/f1\/ferrari-emerges-as-mexico-pole-favourite-but-norris-and-russell-expose-narrow-margins\/\">Charles Leclerc led both Friday practice sessions, putting Ferrari among the favourites for pole position<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Monegasque recorded a <strong>1:17.827<\/strong> in FP2, finishing 0.103s ahead of Lando Norris and 0.106s clear of George Russell.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Verstappen finished fifth with a 1:18.138, <strong>0.311s behind Leclerc<\/strong>, although the damage sustained in the collision complicated Red Bull&#8217;s attempts to evaluate the car&#8217;s true performance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Andrea Kimi Antonelli finished fourth for Mercedes, while Verstappen&#8217;s teammate Isack Hadjar placed sixth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Dutchman now faces two separate challenges ahead of qualifying: improving Red Bull&#8217;s single-lap performance and overcoming the effect of his grid penalty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Even if Verstappen sets the fastest lap in qualifying, <strong>he will not be able to retain the corresponding starting position without the penalty being applied<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A one-place grid drop could be particularly significant if the leading teams remain separated by only a few hundredths of a second.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Lawson faces another setback in Racing Bulls&#8217; qualifying battle<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Lawson also faces a difficult task after receiving the same penalty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The New Zealander finished ninth in FP2, placing Racing Bulls within reach of a competitive qualifying result.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">However, the collision deprived the team of uninterrupted running and forced engineers to assess the damage sustained by the car.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The one-place grid drop means Lawson will need to qualify as high as possible to limit the consequences for Sunday&#8217;s race.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">His position within the Red Bull driver programme has also attracted attention throughout the season, with the organisation evaluating its options for 2027.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The FIA penalty does not directly determine Lawson&#8217;s future, but the incident adds to the scrutiny surrounding his performances and decision-making.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How the penalties will affect Sunday&#8217;s Mexican GP grid<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The final starting grid will be determined after Saturday&#8217;s qualifying session and the application of any outstanding penalties.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Both Verstappen and Lawson will receive <strong>one-place grid drops<\/strong>, but their exact starting positions cannot be confirmed until qualifying has been completed and the stewards have issued the relevant classification.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If other drivers receive penalties, the final order may also depend on the sequence in which those sanctions are applied under FIA regulations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Mexican Grand Prix is scheduled for Sunday, November 1, at <strong>14:00 local time<\/strong>, corresponding to <strong>20:00 GMT in the United Kingdom and 15:00 EST on the US East Coast<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The final practice session takes place on Saturday at 11:30 local time, followed by qualifying at 15:00.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>GRANDE PR\u00caMIO<\/strong> is following every session of the Mexican Grand Prix this weekend, with breaking news, full coverage and real-time updates in its <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/f1\/\">Formula 1 section<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Max Verstappen and Liam Lawson receive one-place grid penalties and one penalty point each after their collision during Mexico City GP practice.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1020319670,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"42wp_featured_image_caption":"Max Verstappen and Liam Lawson","42wp_featured_image_credits":"Red Bull Content Pool","42wp_featured_video":"","42wp_ai_content_disclaimer":"","42wp_is_ai_content":false,"42wp_featured_image_hidden":false,"42wp_authors_list":[{"id":13,"location":""}],"footnotes":"","42wp_hide_from_automatic":false,"42wp_breaking_news":false},"categories":[5],"tags":[57,196,64,963],"42wp_author":[13],"class_list":["post-4669","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-f1","tag-fia","tag-liam-lawson","tag-max-verstappen","tag-mexican-grand-prix","42wp_author-luana-marino"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4669","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4669"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4669\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4670,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4669\/revisions\/4670"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1020319670"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4669"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4669"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4669"},{"taxonomy":"42wp_author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/42wp_author?post=4669"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}