Featured Image Credit: Getty
Topics: Lewis Hamilton, Formula 1, Ferrari, Max Verstappen, Charles Leclerc
Ryan Smart
Topics: Lewis Hamilton, Formula 1, Ferrari, Max Verstappen, Charles Leclerc
Lewis Hamilton's actions immediately after the Mexico Grand Prix spoke volumes after his eighth-placed finish.
Hamilton qualified in third place at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez but was involved in two of the race's most controversial moments in the early laps.
The seven-time champion was alongside team-mate Charles Leclerc going into turn one, but Leclerc took evasive action off the circuit and came back out ahead of Hamilton.
Leclerc escaped without punishment for that action, as he was not told to give the place up to Hamilton.
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Max Verstappen, who also had to take avoiding action at turn one, did return the place to Hamilton, but was involved in a separate incident three laps later.
Verstappen attempted an overtake on the inside of the Ferrari into turn one, but went deep, made contact and forced Hamilton wide.
Then, into turn four, Hamilton took the escape road while alongside Verstappen and rejoined the circuit, but was deemed to have left the track and gained an advantage.
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The stewards deemed that no action be taken against Verstappen, having initially placed him under investigation for forcing a driver off the track.
Hamilton, meanwhile, was awarded a 10-second penalty for his infraction, as he was deemed to have gained a lasting advantage by cutting the corner and rejoining the circuit.
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Having been in third place at the time of the penalty, the 40-year-old dropped down the field and was never in realistic podium contention from there onwards.
After the chequered flag, Hamilton remained silent and did not reply when race engineer Riccardo Adami spoke to him over team radio.
And after parking his Ferrari in the pit lane, as per Twitter account @fiagirly, his F1TV onboard showed that he stayed in his car while remaining silent.
Footage shows that, while other drivers who finished close to him on track got out and re-attached their steering wheels, Hamilton still remained sat in his Ferrari.
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It goes without saying that the result was a disappointment for Hamilton, who likely would have been in podium contention - if not even more - without the 10-second penalty.
When informed of the penalty over team radio, he replied: "These guys are unbelievable, man. That's so s**t, man. What about all the other cars that have cheated?"
Speaking to F1TV post-race, a noticeably downbeat Hamilton stated that he 'got some points at least'.
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"It was fun at the start," he said. "It didn't end up the way I hoped. But, you know, that's motor racing.
"It was very, very dirty offline. I did the best I could to bring the car back to the track safely, and that's all you could hope for.
"I got some points at least."
He continued: "I don't understand it [the penalty]. I haven't seen... I literally just got changed. It doesn't really matter. I know what happened, and I know how the race was. I don't care, I move forwards."