Fred Vasseur shares his verdict on Max Verstappen avoiding a penalty for Lewis Hamilton clash in Mexico

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Old rivals clashed again at the Mexican Grand Prix as Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen crossed paths early in the race.

After looking likely to contend for his first podium with Ferrari, a 10-second time penalty for failing to follow the race director’s instructions would hurt Hamilton’s charge. While teammate Charles Leclerc finished second, the seven-time champion limped home in eighth.

It’s a frustrating outcome to the Mexican Grand Prix, as Hamilton had been contending for the lead into turn one before being pushed off the track not long after. With four races to go, it looks as though the Briton’s first season in red will result in a sixth-place finish in the drivers’ championship.

Ferrari’s engineer riled up Hamilton, and Karun Chandhok was surprised that his team didn’t tell him to back off and give up some time before receiving a penalty. Max Verstappen addressed the Hamilton start chaos, admitting that he almost crashed after running wide at turn one.

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

Fred Vasseur unfazed by Max Verstappen avoiding penalty for Lewis Hamilton clash

While Hamilton claimed Verstappen pushed him wide, his appeals weren’t heard by the stewards, who opted against penalising the reigning champion. Embroiled in an intense fight with McLaren, he now has four races to overturn a 36-point deficit.

Upon review, his misdemeanour seemed similar to Hamilton’s, but he ended up escaping punishment. He then drove a superb second stint to drag himself onto the podium, being denied a last-lap overtake attempt by a late Virtual Safety Car.

When quizzed by Canal+ on the matter, Ferrari boss Fred Vasseur shared his thoughts on the matter, declaring Hamilton’s penalty ‘very harsh’.

“10 seconds is harsh, we can consider that he did not take the small way back to the track, but he also lost the car, 10 seconds is very harsh,” he said.

“I am not going to play the football coach and complain about everyone,” Vasseur replied when asked about Verstappen avoiding a penalty.

READ MORE: Lewis Hamilton says one F1 driver has been ‘amazing’ despite ‘intense’ pressure from Red Bull

Is Lewis Hamilton going to break his 18-year F1 record in 2025?

Although Ferrari’s pace has been more encouraging lately, Hamilton has failed to appear on the podium, while Leclerc has achieved seven top-three finishes.

It shows that the car has the potential to make it, but a variety of factors have to come together for it to be achieved.

Simply put, Hamilton hasn’t assembled enough good weekends in 2025 and is now at risk of achieving his first season without a podium in his Formula 1 career. He has just four chances left.

Hamilton knows everything about Ferrari now that he’s had some time to embed himself within the team, making the transition to the 2026 F1 regulations a lot easier for him.