Max Verstappen and Liam Lawson have each been handed a one-place grid penalty for their collision during practice at the Mexico City Grand Prix, meaning Verstappen cannot start Sunday's race on pole regardless of his qualifying result.
The incident occurred during a practice session at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, when Verstappen dived up the inside of the Racing Bulls car driven by Lawson. The two cars collided on the final right-hander before driving through the gap in the stands, sending carbon fibre debris across the track. Neither car spun or crashed.
Stewards' Decision
The stewards provided the same explanation for both drivers' punishments, stating that their behaviour was "unacceptable" and that both drivers admitted the moves were "clumsy" and the battle "unnecessary".
In their written decision, the stewards noted: "On the approach to turn 12, car 3 [Verstappen] was on a preparation lap and car 30 [Lawson] was on a cool down lap preparing for another push lap. The drivers of both cars behaved in a manner that was considered unacceptable by the stewards particularly in view of the warning that had been given at the team managers meeting earlier this day."
Escalated Penalty
The stewards decided to escalate the penalty from a formal warning to a grid position penalty, citing similar incidents this year and consistent with previous years' contact between cars in free practice.
After the practice session, Verstappen told Lawson: "When you're fighting for your seat, it's not very smart behaviour." Lawson had earlier complained over the radio that Verstappen "literally just drove into me".
Separate Incident
A third Red Bull-employed driver, Isack Hadjar, also faced the stewards this weekend after pushing away a fan who had approached him abruptly in the paddock. The stewards noted that the fan had "invaded Hadjar's personal space without consent" and that the push was a reaction to "an uninvited and rather aggressive action by another person". Hadjar received only a formal warning.
