Table of Content
Ferrari Formula 1 driver Charles Leclerc has explained his controversial drive at the Mexico Grand Prix, focusing on how he seized and kept the lead from teammate Lewis Hamilton. The initial battle saw both drivers outbreak themselves at Turn 4, sending them off the track and allowing Max Verstappen to intervene before Leclerc cut Turn 5 to stay ahead.
The Turn 4 and Turn 5 Incident
Leclerc attempted to pass his polesitting teammate at the start of the race, but Hamilton defended his position through the opening sequence of corners. As Leclerc launched an attack around the outside of Turn 4, both cars overshot the braking zone and went completely off the track. Hamilton returned to the circuit in second place behind Verstappen, while Leclerc cut through Turn 5 to retain the lead.
Because he gained a lasting advantage by exceeding track limits, standard protocol would typically require returning the position, but doing so would have meant yielding to Verstappen as well. Leclerc ultimately kept his position and accepted a five-second time penalty from the stewards for the infringement.
As recounted by Leclerc to Autosport.com, both drivers braked very late and missed the corner, resulting in him cutting the track. He noted that Verstappen’s presence between them after Turn 5 added confusion, and because he did not receive clear feedback from the team, he decided to keep going while anticipating a penalty.
The maneuver sparked frustration from Hamilton, who complained over team radio that Leclerc had clean air and should have handed the place back instead of being handed the win by the stewards. Leclerc acknowledged that the situation would be discussed during the next team briefing.
Intra-Team Friction and Rules of Engagement
Addressing questions about the intra-team friction at Ferrari this year, Leclerc downplayed any major concerns regarding their battle. He emphasized that they were fighting for the race win, leaving very little margin between them, and pointed out that neither driver made contact during the Turn 4 mistake.
Leclerc stated that the close racing was expected when fighting for the lead and suggested that Hamilton might have been more frustrated with how the entire situation at Turns 4 and 5 was handled by race control rather than the move itself. While acknowledging that they would talk about the incident, Leclerc noted that Hamilton’s defending was also pushed to the limit.
Race Pace and Eventual Result
Following the incident, Leclerc attempted to build a gap to Verstappen to offset his impending five-second penalty. He extended his advantage to 5.243 seconds by lap 24 before both drivers headed to the pit lane, though Verstappen reduced the gap slightly before pitting.
The penalty mitigation ultimately failed when Leclerc suffered a slow pit stop that took 6.3 seconds longer than Verstappen’s service, with 1.3 seconds unrelated to the penalty, allowing the Red Bull driver to take the lead.
Leclerc’s afternoon deteriorated further following a red flag caused by Valtteri Bottas’s crash. At the second restart, Leclerc locked up heavily on debris marbles, damaging the tires on his SF-26 and making the final stint extremely difficult. He ultimately crossed the finish line in fourth place, securing his sixth consecutive top-four finish.
