Why Lewis Hamilton got a 10-second time penalty at F1 Mexico GP

Lewis Hamilton was hit with a costly 10-second time penalty in the Mexico City Grand Prix after an incident with Max Verstappen .

In an early battle for third place, Red Bull ’s Verstappen lunged down the inside at turn one – with Hamilton defending valiantly to keep the position.

Yet further down the road at turn four, Hamilton took the outside line and went off-track. Initially, the Brit took the escape road but then cut across the grass, giving him a hefty advantage over Verstappen back on the road. The Dutchman, in the same turn, lost fourth place to Haas’ Ollie Bearman .

As a result of cutting the corner on the escape road, the stewards decided to hit 40-year-old Hamilton with a 10-second time penalty. Although the corner-cutting may have been unavoidable, Hamilton then sped