F1 fans are all saying the same thing after Lewis Hamilton receives penalty at the Mexican Grand Prix

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Lewis Hamilton was hit with a 10-second penalty after a chaotic start to the Mexican Grand Prix.

The seven-time world champion qualified in the top three for the first time as a Ferrari driver at the Mexico City Grand Prix. He lined up his SF-25 P3 behind teammate Charles Leclerc and polesitter Lando Norris.

Hamilton was ‘really struggling’ with braking in practice, but he put that behind him to line up on the second row. He was in a strong position to score his first podium for Ferrari, but he was caught up in the drama-filled opening laps.

Hamilton went four-wide into turn one with Norris, Leclerc and Max Verstappen, with the latter two running wide. Leclerc and Verstappen rejoined ahead of Hamilton, before the Red Bull driver handed the position back, but not his teammate, despite being ahead on corner entry.

On lap six, Verstappen attempted a dive-bomb into turn one on Hamilton, when the two drivers made contact and the Dutchman ran off the track. Hamilton locked up while defending from the Red Bull driver at turn four, when he ran onto the escape road and back on track in P3.

F1 fans criticise stewards for not penalising Max Verstappen after Lewis Hamilton handed Mexican GP penalty

The incident was placed under investigation, bringing no further action. However, the investigation was reopened for Hamilton due to leaving the track and gaining an advantage, as he cut across the grass rather than the escape path.

Subsequently, Hamilton was handed a 10-second time penalty, taking him out of the podium places. F1 fans were furious on X (formerly Twitter) as they wondered why Verstappen was not penalised for leaving the track on lap one and causing a collision with the Ferrari driver on lap six.

“Absolute joke,” one fan simply said. Another user was in agreement: “That’s ridiculous. You’re completely clowns.”

Many believed that Verstappen should have received a penalty. One said: “10 sec penalty and nothing for Verstappen,” while another wrote: “But Max and Charles doing the exact same thing was no problem?”

“This is disgusting. Nothing for Max for the barge or cutting the field on turn 1. What a joke,” said one fan. Finally, another added: “Ridiculous! And no penalties for Lap 1 for several other drivers????”

READ MORE: Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton’s life outside F1 from net worth to family

Sam Bird issues ‘extremely harsh’ verdict on Lewis Hamilton’s penalty

Speaking via BBC Radio 5 Live, Sam Bird also felt that the penalty decision was incorrect. He said: “I think that penalty is extremely harsh for Lewis Hamilton.”

The 40-year-old will be furious with the outcome, especially when he had been making great progress with Ferrari as the weekend progressed.

Ferrari’s engineers have been responding to Hamilton’s recommendations, which have seemed to help him improve his form. The team have previously ignored his calls for certain upgrades, which has damaged the team’s progress.

Leclerc says Hamilton knows ‘basically everything’ about Ferrari, suggesting that he is fully integrated into the team after a tough 2025 campaign. The only thing missing is his maiden podium in red.