F1 star Lewis Hamilton hits out at penalty decision after Brazilian Grand Prix disaster

A dejected looking Hamilton in Ferrari race suit and cap in front of a Brazilian-flag themed paddock background — Photo: © IMAGO

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Lewis Hamilton hits out at penalty decision after Brazilian Grand Prix disaster

Hamilton was hit with a five-second penalty in Sao Paulo on Sunday

Kerry Violet F1 News Editor

F1 editor and journalist covering motorsport since 2024.

Monday 10 November 2025 14:06 Updated: 18:56

Lewis Hamilton was quick to complain about a penalty handed down to him at Sunday's Brazilian Grand Prix, after an early on-track incident.

The seven-time F1 champion took a five-second penalty for his part in a clumsy first lap at Interlagos, which saw him dragging part of his damaged front wing under his Ferrari.

On the first lap of the 2025 Brazilian GP, Hamilton recovered from light contact with Carlos Sainz, only to break his front wing after driving into the back of Franco Colapinto's Alpine.

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The wing then lodged itself under his SF-25, doing further damage to the floor, but his race really went from bad to worse when the FIA determined that a five-second time penalty was an appropriate punishment for Hamilton who they deemed had caused the collision with Colapinto.

The 40-year-old then took to team radio to protest the decision, saying: "These guys are a joke! A complete joke! The car moved over on me so I clipped my wing."

Hamilton's nightmare first Brazilian GP in red

His team-mate Charles Leclerc also DNF'd earlier on Sunday through no fault of his own after being taken out by Kimi Antonelli, who had been hit by Oscar Piastri, with the McLaren star handed a 10-second penalty as a result.

The Scuderia's failure to pick up any points in Sunday's race takes them further away from P2 in the constructors' standings as Mercedes have extended their lead on Ferrari to 32 points.

Speaking after the race, Hamilton labelled his season so far at Ferrari a 'nightmare', saying: "This is the nightmare I've been living in for a while."

"The flip between the dream of driving for this amazing team and then the nightmare of the results that we've had, the ups and downs, it's challenging.

"Tomorrow I'll get back up, I'll keep training, I'll keep working with the team, I really wanted to get them good points this weekend but I'll come back as strong as I can in the next race and try to recover."

Those post-race comments prompted Sky presenter Simon Lazenby to respond: "That wasn't the dream he was sold."

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