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Verstappen and Lawson Receive One-Place Mexico Grid Penalties After Practice Clash
Both drivers lose one starting-grid place after Friday’s Mexico practice collision. Each also receives a license penalty point.
Max Verstappen and Liam Lawson have each received a one-place grid penalty for the Mexico City Grand Prix after their collision in second practice October 30. The stewards also added one penalty point to each driver’s license. Verstappen has one license point, Lawson four.
The penalties follow a confrontation in the stadium section at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez. Verstappen was preparing for a timed lap, while Lawson was cooling down before another attempt, according to the stewards’ account.
The Red Bull moved alongside the Racing Bulls approaching Turn 12, and neither driver yielded through the following corners. Contact damaged Verstappen’s floor and Lawson’s front wing, leaving debris that required a red flag. Both subsequently returned to the session.
Officials reviewed video and data and heard from both drivers before deciding that their conduct warranted more than a formal warning. Teams had already been warned about that type of behavior at a meeting earlier in the day, and both drivers acknowledged their moves were unnecessary.
Verstappen criticized Lawson afterward, arguing that the New Zealander should have shown more judgment while competing to retain his seat. Racing Bulls principal Alan Permane instead directed his criticism at both drivers, saying the confrontation had been unnecessary during practice and that each could do better.
Verstappen finished the session fifth, 0.311 seconds behind Charles Leclerc’s leading time of 1 minute, 17.827 seconds. Lando Norris and George Russell were second and third, with championship leader Kimi Antonelli fourth. Lawson completed the session ninth.
Both drivers had sat out opening practice while rookies Ayumu Iwasa and Nikola Tsolov used their cars. Their first running of the weekend therefore included an interruption and damage before qualifying. The sporting sanctions apply to the race starting grid; their final positions remain subject to qualifying and the official grid allocation.
