Villeneuve takes firm stance on Hamilton’s penalty in Mexican GP

Speaking on the Sky F1 Show podcast, the Canadian said: “Deserved penalty. It sounds tough — ten seconds — and it was a lot in that race. But the problem is you couldn’t give the place back to Max, obviously. Had he not cut across the track, he would have lost a position or two, the way he had gone wide anyway.”

According to Villeneuve, what made Hamilton’s situation worse was the way he rejoined the track — gaining far too much ground on his direct rivals without even attempting to slow down.

On the F1 Nation podcast, Hinchcliffe also weighed in on the Hamilton–Verstappen controversy in Mexico, arguing that the two episodes (Verstappen cutting turn 1 at the start) shouldn’t be judged in the same way. In his view, Ferrari should have handled the situation with a different approach.

Hamilton’s race took a major hit once the ten-second penalty was confirmed. Up until that point, the seven-time world champion had been fighting for a spot on the podium — a result that continues to slip through his grasp in his first year with Ferrari.

By the chequered flag, he could climb no higher than eighth, while his teammate delivered yet another strong performance, taking second place — just ahead of Verstappen — and sealing his seventh podium of the season.