Lewis Hamilton snapped at ‘ridiculous’ Ferrari after being told to lift and coast 18 times in Mexico

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Lewis Hamilton’s debut season at Ferrari took another painful turn at the Mexican Grand Prix last weekend. After his best qualifying in red, he tumbled to eighth place in the race.

Hamilton’s afternoon was defined by a penalty he picked up for leaving the track and gaining an advantage in a battle with Max Verstappen. It cost him 10 seconds when he pitted, eliminating him from podium contention.

Martin Brundle thought Hamilton deserved his penalty, and backed the stewards’ call not to sanction Verstappen for his turn-one move shortly beforehand.

Hamilton repeatedly asked engineer Riccardo Adami whether Verstappen or teammate Charles Leclerc would be punished for what he saw as ‘cheating’ after they cut across the grass at the start of the race.

No action was taken, and to add to Hamilton’s exasperation, Adami reminded him to lift and coast on 18 separate occasions during the race.

Ferrari’s constant lift and coast instructions were too much for Lewis Hamilton

Ferrari aren’t the only team required to lift and coast, but it’s a particularly sensitive issue at Maranello. Hamilton was disqualified in China at the start of the year for excessive plank wear.

By lifting their foot off the throttle and cruising before applying the brakes, the Ferrari drivers can protect their underbody. It’s a fundamental design flaw with the SF-25, but one that they couldn’t correct in-season.

• READ MORE: Lewis Hamilton has upset Ferrari fans by failing to follow Michael Schumacher’s example this season

Generally, when Adami gave the so-called ‘LICO’ instruction, Hamilton silently complied. But when he was told to lift off into turn 12, he replied: “That’s ridiculous, mate.”

When he was struggling to catch the Mercedes duo of Kimi Antonelli and George Russell in his final stint, he added: “I can’t get close to anyone with [unclear] and all this lift and coast.”

Lewis Hamilton apologises to Ferrari in unbroadcast radio message

It’s worth noting that Hamilton did take responsibility for losing out on a podium.

Karun Chandhok says Ferrari ‘riled’ Hamilton up by telling him he’d been penalised for cutting the turn four/five chicane. In reality, the stewards took exception to his gaining a lasting advantage by not slowing down.

While he was initially angered by the verdict, Hamilton later told Adami: “I’m really sorry, I lost you guys the P3.”

Leclerc went on to finish second for Ferrari, which means he’s now scored seven podiums without reply in the teammate head-to-head. The main goal for the Scuderia is beating Mercedes in the constructors’ – they’re currently one point behind in the battle for second place.