Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton laps DELETED after Mexican GP violations

Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen talk after Abu Dhabi 2021 GP — Photo: © IMAGO

Mexican Grand Prix

Verstappen and Hamilton laps DELETED after Mexican GP violations

The Mexican Grand Prix looks set to be quite the battle

By Kerry Violet.

Sunday 27 October 2024 17:00

Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen share 10 drivers' championships between them, but both were flagged for pushing the limits too far at the Mexican Grand Prix on Saturday.

The pair qualified sixth and second respectively for Sunday's race, but things nearly went horribly wrong for the Dutchman, whose first flying lap in FP3 was deleted for violating track limits.

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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 best all-round force of the 2024 season.

Lando Norris is just 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 Mexico City, 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 a driver from each of Red Bull's championship rivals, McLaren and Ferrari, the Scuderia still hopeful for a promising result this weekend following Carlos Sainz's pole position at the track.

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