Verstappen and Lawson cop one-place grid drops and penalty points after Mexico City practice clash

Stewards penalise both drivers after FP2 contact

Max Verstappen and Liam Lawson have both been given one-place grid penalties for the Mexico City Grand Prix after colliding during second practice at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez on Friday, Formula 1 reports. Each driver also received one penalty point. The stewards' decision document stated that the drivers of both cars behaved in a manner that was considered unacceptable, particularly given a warning issued at the team managers' meeting earlier that day, and that both drivers admitted the moves were unnecessary and 'clumsy'. ¹

In their decision, the stewards explained the escalation: noting there had been similar incidents this year of actions between drivers in free practice, they decided to escalate the penalty from that of a formal warning to a grid position penalty, particularly in view of the warning provided at the team managers' meeting and consistent with other incidents involving contact between cars in free practice in previous years. The Race also published the full wording of the decision, and Sky Sports confirmed the stewards said a warning about overtaking in the final sector had been given at the team managers' meeting earlier on Friday. ¹⁶⁸

According to PlanetF1, the penalty point was Verstappen's first within a 12-month period and Lawson's fourth. The stewards' decision covered Verstappen's Red Bull, car 3, and Lawson's Racing Bulls, car 30, in identical judgments for both drivers. ⁷¹

How the clash unfolded

Both drivers had missed the opening practice session, with rookies Ayumu Iwasa and Nikola Tsolov taking over their cars, Formula 1 reports. The pair crossed paths early in FP2 when Verstappen, on a preparation lap, tried to move past Lawson, who was on a cool-down lap preparing for another push lap, into Turn 12. Lawson tried to get back ahead through the following left-hand turn in the stadium section, with Verstappen bouncing over the kerb on the exit and rejoining alongside the New Zealander, causing damage to the Red Bull's floor and the Racing Bulls' front wing. ¹

The Race describes the sequence as Verstappen lunging past Lawson into the 90-degree Turn 12 right-hander, Lawson staying on the outside through that corner before Verstappen cut across the track at Turn 14, getting ahead only via contact that shattered the Red Bull's left-side bargeboard. The debris prompted a red flag to recover the carbon fibre fragments. Sky Sports notes collisions of this nature between drivers in practice are extremely rare. ⁶¹⁸

Despite the damage, both drivers resumed their programmes after the red flag, with Verstappen finishing the session fifth and Lawson ninth, Formula 1 reports. Motorsport Week adds that the RB22 carried bargeboard damage for the remainder of Verstappen's compromised session. ¹⁴

Driver and team reactions

Verstappen criticised Lawson before the stewards' verdict, telling Sky Sports F1 he did not think the incident was called unlucky, saying it was 'maybe not very smart behaviour what he was trying to do there' and that it would not change his weekend. He added that if he were Lawson he would act a little smarter, and that when you are fighting for your seat it is not very smart behaviour. The Race notes Lawson has not yet been announced at Racing Bulls for 2027 alongside team-mate Arvid Lindblad, and that Verstappen characterised him as fighting for his seat. ⁸⁶

Verstappen was quoted separately questioning what was going through Lawson's head, saying that when Lawson saw him coming he suddenly started to accelerate and that it was not very sensible behaviour from someone in his position to pick a fight with him. Racing Bulls team principal Alan Permane declined to side with either driver, telling the BBC through reporting carried by the Canberra Times that his view was simply that it was not needed and both drivers could do better. ⁸²

Lawson was not obliged to speak to the media after Friday's track action, though Sky Sports reports that in the immediate aftermath of the incident he said on team radio that Verstappen 'literally drove into me' and asked what he was supposed to do if he backed out every single time. ⁸

Penalty points and championship context

The penalties apply to Sunday's race grid; as the signal accompanying this event notes, they affect the drivers' eventual starting positions but the report is not a final starting grid, with qualifying still to come on Saturday night at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez. Sky Sports lists qualifying at 9pm UK time on Saturday and the race at 8pm UK time on Sunday. ¹⁸

Agence France-Presse reporting published by Diario Libre places Verstappen fourth in the drivers' championship, six points behind George Russell of Mercedes in second, following a recovery run of six consecutive podiums including victories in Malaysia and Singapore in early October, though Verstappen is out of title contention this season. The same AFP account says Lawson sits ninth in the championship, having scored in 13 of the first 18 races. ESPN adds Lawson has 77 points, 63 of them scored with Racing Bulls, and that those points have helped the Faenza team sit fifth in the constructors' standings on 102 points. ⁵³

Sky Sports reports Racing Bulls have yet to confirm their 2027 driver line-up, with Lawson ninth in the standings, 39 points ahead of team-mate Arvid Lindblad. Red Bull junior Nikola Tsolov, second in the Formula 2 championship, made his F1 practice debut in Mexico by driving Lawson's car in FP1, and ESPN reports his name is being pushed strongly within the Red Bull structure as a candidate for the 2027 seat. Sky Sports quotes analyst Karun Chandhok saying it would be 'unjust' if Lawson lost his seat given his season. ⁸³

Sourcing and syndication notes

The stewards' decision document itself is the underlying primary record for the penalties, quoted at length by Formula 1, Sky Sports, PlanetF1, The Race and Motorsport Week, all of which publish the same decision text. The Canberra Times article is credited to Australian Associated Press, and the Diario Libre piece is AFP agency copy, so neither constitutes independent additional reporting of the stewards' findings; they syndicate the same agency account of the verdict and Friday session. ^1876425

Attributed commentary and opinion in this report comes from named individuals: Verstappen's comments to Sky Sports F1 and reporters, Lawson's radio remarks as reported by Sky Sports, Permane's remarks to the BBC, and analysis from Sky Sports pundits Jamie Chadwick, Bernie Collins and Karun Chandhok. ESPN adds detail on the in-car radio exchange from its own reporting, including Lawson's engineer telling him he had Carlos Sainz ahead and Verstappen behind before the meeting at Turn 12. Whether the one-place penalties prove decisive for either driver's race result will only be established by qualifying and the official race classification. ⁸²³⁶

Verstappen had to give up his FP1 seat

A wider grid-penalty picture existed for the Mexican Grand Prix weekend: Formula 1 reported separately that Valtteri Bottas was set for a grid penalty after power unit changes, and PlanetF1 reported the FIA confirmed a 50-place grid penalty affecting the event. Those penalties relate to other cars and are distinct from the practice-clash sanctions on Verstappen and Lawson. ¹⁷