Lewis Hamilton‘s Ferrari F1 race engineer has been accused of ‘riling up’ his driver unnecessarily during Sunday’s Mexican Grand Prix.
The seven-time champion was given a ten-second time penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage early in the race, scuppering his chances for a first podium in the red of the Scuderia.
Hamilton fumed at the penalty, which he served at a pit stop a little later in the race, with race engineer Riccardo Adami telling him the team didn’t agree with the stewards’ ruling.
However, Sky Sports’ Karun Chandhok criticised Adami’s communication, claiming the engineer should have made it more clear that Hamilton was being punished for emerging from the grass ahead of Max Verstappen, rather than for the fact of the off-track excursion.
Chandhok: Engineer didn’t give Hamilton the facts
As relayed on the broadcast, Adami told Hamilton: “We have a 10-second time penalty for the incident at turn four with Verstappen. We don’t agree but let’s keep the head down.”
The Brit replied: “That’s such **** man. The grip is so small there. The grip there is so low.”
After the radio messages were relayed, former F1 racer Chandhok said: “That’s poor communication, because you’ve unnecessarily riled up the driver without giving him all of the facts.
“And I think, that’s not actually true. He’s not been given a penalty for the incident, he’s been given the penalty because he gained time.”
