The Mexican Grand Prix started with controversy at Flip 1, and Charles Leclerc discovered himself on the heart of it — with some claiming he was let off frivolously by the FIA. The opening moments of the race delivered the standard mixture of chaos and drama that the primary nook in Mexico is understood for. With 4 automobiles facet by facet and several other drivers reducing the nook, questions shortly arose over how the stewards dealt with the scenario. Based on former F1 driver Jolyon Palmer, Charles Leclerc was “saved from a sure penalty.”
Flip 1 noticed Lando Norris escape cleanly from the chaos that unfolded behind him, as at the least 4 drivers went facet by facet and several other went off monitor. Leclerc was amongst those that ran huge however managed to rejoin the race forward of the pack. The Ferrari driver later gave the place again to Norris, however to not Lewis Hamilton.
Different drivers, together with Max Verstappen, Carlos Sainz, and Liam Lawson, additionally lower the nook with out receiving penalties — one thing that pissed off rivals like George Russell and Fernando Alonso. Reviewing the incident, Jolyon Palmer didn’t maintain again in his evaluation:
“Leclerc, beginning behind Hamilton, chooses to go off monitor. He wasn’t pushed by Lewis — it’s clear there was house on the skin,” defined the previous F1 driver. “In that scenario, the most secure factor is to go huge, come again forward, after which resolve who to let by means of. Mainly, you change into the choose of your personal case.”
He added: “Charles let Lando by means of however not Lewis Hamilton. For me, that’s a penalty — a sure penalty. I think about the stewards noticed an excessive amount of confusion in Flip 1, however the truth stays that Leclerc overtook Hamilton off monitor and will have been punished.”
Martin Brundle went even additional, saying the Monegasque driver ought to have obtained a 10-second penalty, whereas Verstappen deserved a drive-through penalty for his personal corner-cutting.
Regardless of the heated debate, Charles Leclerc made the many of the opening lap chaos, ending second and securing his seventh podium of the season. Behind him, Lewis Hamilton was in the end the one driver to obtain a penalty for exceeding monitor limits — leaving the British driver nonetheless with out a single podium end this yr.
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