At the start of the first tests on the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, Hamilton went straight on braking at Turn 1, leading him to cross the grass before joining the circuit at the entrance to Turn 3.
Hamilton said on the radio that he “couldn’t slow down there” as a number of the drivers struggled in the dusty conditions at the start of the session.
But on returning to the track, Hamilton failed to stay on the left side of the orange terminal at Turn 3, as stated by race director Michael Masi in his pre-event notes.
This means that the seven-time world champion will face an investigation from the stewards in Mexico, as race control confirmed 18 minutes after the start of the session.
This is unlikely to result in a major penalty for Hamilton, with a reprimand for not following the clerk of the course’s instructions the most likely outcome. The stewards will probably hold a hearing between FP1 and FP2.
The stewards also announced during the session via race control that Kimi Raikkonen will be investigated after FP1 for an incident at Turn 1.
Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes
Photo by: Charles Coates / Motorsport Images
Hamilton enters the Mexico City Grand Prix this weekend looking to strike back at title rival Max Verstappen and close the 12-point gap at the top of the drivers’ standings.
Verstappen beat Hamilton to a narrow victory in the last race in the United States to extend his lead, and now comes to a track where Red Bull should be strong.
Verstappen is a two-time Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez winner – in 2017 and 2018 – and first took pole in 2019 before a penalty set him back.
Hamilton won the last edition of the race in 2019 but found his opposition hard to beat this weekend as the high altitude plays into the high downforce of the RB16B car.
“They’re going to be quick this weekend,” Hamilton said of Red Bull.
“Last [time] I think they were almost half a second ahead of us. Our car is no better than [that] car of the year I would say with these changes.
“It will be interesting to see how we fare with them this weekend.”
