Charles Leclerc calls his five-second penalty for the Lewis Hamilton Turn 4 clash at Mexico City GP “deserved”

By Vancouver Television Sports Desk

Charles Leclerc has acknowledged that the five-second time penalty he received for passing his Ferrari teammate Lewis Hamilton off track during the opening lap of the Mexico City Grand Prix was “deserved.” The incident occurred at Turn 4 after the race start, when both Ferrari cars went wide while fighting for position and Leclerc jumped ahead by going over the grass.

Leclerc’s explanation after the race focused on why he did not immediately give the place back. According to his account, both cars did not successfully make Turn 4, then he remained ahead, only for Max Verstappen to pass both Ferraris, moving into second during the scramble that followed Hamilton’s radio frustration.

Hamilton contested the penalty on the basis that the move was in clean air even though Leclerc had been hit with the time addition. The radio argument continued as the race unfolded, and Leclerc said he would speak with Hamilton and the rest of the team to clarify what happened. “The thing is that it was a bit confusing because we both didn’t make Turn 4,” Leclerc said, adding that he then asked what he should do and decided to keep the position and accept what he described as a “deserved penalty.”

The stewards’ decision reduced what is described as a standard baseline penalty for this kind of incident. While the usual guideline in such cases is often 10 seconds, the decision document stated that mitigation applied because Hamilton (car 44) was also off track on the inside of Leclerc (car 16), and because the incident happened early in the first lap. The stewards therefore awarded a five-second penalty rather than the full guideline amount.

Leclerc also framed the episode as part of racing rather than a deliberate dispute. He said he could understand being unhappy about how Hamilton pushed him off the track at Turn 1, but maintained that when fighting for a win, such battles are “the way it should be.” With Ferrari’s intra-team discussions now expected to continue, the team moves to the next round in Brazil, arriving with 124 points advantage over Red Bull in the Constructors’ Championship and still targeting second place in the standings behind Red Bull.

publishedAt source: 2026-11-01T17:18:10-08:00