Lewis Hamilton makes FIA demand after Max Verstappen discussion in Mexico
Photo: Race Pictures
Henry Eccles is a freelance Formula 1 journalist for GPblog, covering breaking news, live race blogs, and features across the F1 calendar. Since joining in 2026, he has produced high-volume reporting on the sport’s biggest stories, alongside feature pieces including analysis and historical content.
Lewis Hamilton has suggested F1 2026's power units have the "worst engine profile setting" ever in the sport's history after lamenting his inability to overtake Max Verstappen in the final stages of the Mexico City GP.
Hamilton addressed the "stupid" clipping the 2026 cars go through while at top speeds in conversation with Verstappen in the Mexico City GP cooldown room. The Ferrari driver finished second, eight tenths behind Verstappen at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, and just ahead of new F1 Drivers' champion Kimi Antonelli.
In the cooldown room, Hamilton said: "You guys have just got too much power on the straights as well. Frickin’ heck," to which Verstappen jokingly replied: “I mean, I needed it with your cornering!”
The pair then addressed the clipping they both experienced during the race - when the car drops from top speed towards the end of the straight as it harvests electrical energy. "It’s so stupid, the clipping they have," Hamilton said, with Verstappen replying: “Yeah, that’s true. It really kills the overtaking into Turn 1.” Hamilton then added: “I don’t understand why they… it’s like they’ve got no sense.”
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Hamilton calls on FIA changes over "silly clips"
Photo: Race Pictures
Speaking after the race during the drivers' press conference, Hamilton called on the FIA to address the "silly clips," which the seven-time world champion said prevents "great racing." The Ferrari driver also suggested changes to the final corner in Mexico City to improve overtaking opportunities at Turn 1.
Referencing his controversial Lap 1 battle with Charles Leclerc - which allowed Verstappen to overtake Hamilton - the 41-year-old began: "We had let Max past and the race was done from there. You can’t overtake here.
“I think it’s something the FIA need to do and it’s just quite bad. I’m sure these guys [Verstappen and Antonelli] would agree. We have this clip at the end of the straight where you can’t go past a certain speed, so everyone just follows."
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Focusing on the clipping, Hamilton pointed to the phenomenon as the chief reason why overtaking was rare in Mexico City. "It’s the silliest thing when you are behind and you have a little bit more power in the slipstream," he said.
"You should be able to go past that to have a chance to overtake. The engine can go faster. It’s just they have these silly clips. It’s the worst engine profile setting that I think they’ve probably ever had in this sport and it doesn’t provide great racing, so today you probably didn’t see much overtaking, unfortunately, because of that."
Hamilton said he enjoyed the launch he got off the line during the starts - the Briton did overtake his teammate Leclerc for P2 during the restart following Valtteri Bottas' crash on Lap 44. Hamilton did, however, raise the idea of changing the final corner in Mexico.
“Obviously, the starts were fun, but it’s a very hard track to follow with the thin air and low downforce. I gave it everything to try and get close to Max, but maybe they needed… I don’t know if they need to change the last corner because it’s so quick. I don’t know.
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"There could be a change to the track, maybe, to enable us to have a little bit better racing. But everyone having this [clipping] this year just diminishes any opportunity of that.”
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