Lewis Hamilton talking with Max Verstappen in Singapore — Photo: © IMAGO

Mexican Grand Prix

Hamilton and Verstappen hit with DELETED laps at Mexican GP

The Mexican Grand Prix looks set to be quite the battle

Kerry Violet F1 News Editor

F1 editor and journalist covering motorsport since 2024.

Sunday 27 October 2024 09:12

Formula 1 world champions Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen were both found to be taking a few too many chances ahead of the Mexican Grand Prix this weekend.

Neither driver has experienced an ideal weekend so far in Mexico City, with the former rivals lining up on Sunday's grid P2 and P6 for Verstappen and Hamilton respectively.

F1 HEADLINES: FIA announce Mercedes punishment verdict as Mexican Grand Prix grid penalty issued

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F1 RESULTS: Norris dominates Verstappen as Red Bull star HUMILIATED

Reigning champions Red Bull have looked unusually off the pace they set at the start of the year, with main man Verstappen failing to secure a victory since the Spanish GP back in June.

To make matters worse, Christian Horner's outfit were knocked off the top spot in the constructors' standings last month when McLaren overtook them, having emerged as the dark horse of the 2024 season.

Toto Wolff's Mercedes have also experienced their fair share of peaks and troughs, with Hamilton and team-mate George Russell both securing wins amid a deluge of car trouble, the young Brit providing the Mercedes garage with more than enough repairs having been involved in two major crashes in as many weeks.

Lando Norris is 57 points behind Max Verstappen in the drivers' standings

Lewis Hamilton has frequently bemoaned the W15's performance this season

Why have the FIA deleted qualifying lap times?

Following the qualifying session at Marina Bay, the FIA confirmed which drivers had had their lap time deleted, in accordance with Article 12.4.1.e of the governing body's International Sporting Code.

Hamilton and Verstappen were just two of the stars who fell victim, along with both Ferraris, adding to the Scuderia's woeful Saturday after last year's winner, Carlos Sainz, crashed out of the session.

A document from the FIA stated: "The cars below did not use the track at turns 1, 2 and 12."

No	Turn	Car	Driver	Competitor	Time of Day	Lap Time
1	1	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team	15:09:46	OUT LAP
2	12	81	Oscar Piastri	McLaren Formula 1 Team	15:13:09	1:17:631
3	2	16	Charles Leclerc	Scuderia Ferrari	15:28:04	1:17:631
4	2	1	Max Verstappen	Oracle Red Bull Racing	15:55:36	1:16:368