Ferrari Issue Furious Statement After Lewis Hamilton Penalty at Mexican GP

Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur has hit out at the stewards decision to hand Lewis Hamilton a penalty during the Mexican Grand Prix.

After Ferrari secured a surprising P2 and P3 in Saturday's qualifying session for the Mexican Grand Prix, things were looking up for the Italian team following what has been a lacklustre season so far.

However, when the lights went out to signal the start of the race on Sunday evening, things quickly went wrong as Ferrari teammates Charles Leclerc and Hamilton battled each other for P2 at the very first corner.

Although Leclerc escaped the attack from his teammate unscathed, it gave reigning Formula One champion Max Verstappen a chance to several attempts to overtake Hamilton, eventually leading to the Brit receiving a 10 second penalty.

The penalty killed any hopes of Hamilton making it onto the podium for the first time this season, and Ferrari boss Vasseur is not happy about it.

Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton clashed early in the Mexico Grand Prix. (Image: Bryn Lennon - Formula 1/Formula 1 via Getty Images)

Shortly after Hamilton's attempted move on Leclerc, Verstappen attempted an overtake on the inside of the Ferrari into turn one but went too deep, making contact with his former rival and forcing Hamilton wide.

Verstappen later gave the position back but that didn't stop him from trying again on lap six, where Hamilton decided to take an escape road when he locked up alongside Verstappen before rejoining ahead of the Dutchman.

Unfortunately for Hamilton, once it was checked by stewards, it was deemed that he had left the track and gained an advantage during this second move, leading to him being handed the penalty.

"This cost us P4.. One thing is the penalty, for sure, that we didn't follow the race director's notes. But 10 seconds, I don't remember when someone took 10 seconds," Vasseur fumed following the race.

"If you have the global picture, saying that Max cut the corner before, he cut the chicane, in the grass, 100 metres. I think it's not very well managed, honestly."

Fred Vasseur was not happy about the penalty decision. (Image: Luca Martini/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

Vasseur later added that the penalty taking place in Mexico, where the grid tends to be more tightly condensed during the race, meant that such a long penalty had an even more severe impact than it would elsewhere.

"Because you are in Mexico, on top of this, I don't say that you have to adapt the penalty to the track, but you have to understand what you are doing," he added.

"He took the 10 seconds. This dropped us at the queue of the group and we can't overtake.

"It's after the pitstop that you have no issue to recover. This cost us, probably P4. Even with the five seconds, I think we were still P4, But with 10 seconds."

After the penalty was applied, Hamilton dropped far down the order but managed to finish strong following a solid recovery on a two-stop strategy, eventually crossing the line in eighth place.

Speaking after the race, the seven-time champion admitted that he felt 'let down' by the FIA, Formula One's governing body, and suggested the incident showed that there were clear double standards in the sport.