Lewis Hamilton gets 'harsh' verdict as drivers blasted for abusing rules

Johnny Herbert has accused some F1 drivers of abusing the rules following last weekend's Mexico City Grand Prix. The likes of Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc went off the circuit on the opening lap but no penalties were handed down by the stewards. Lewis Hamilton, meanwhile, was punished heavily for leaving the track and gaining an advantage in lap seven.

The veteran Brit was hit with a 10-second penalty and went on to finish eighth, having started the race from third on the grid. Herbert has since criticised drivers for exploiting the fact the stewards often 'turn a blind eye' to opening lap incidents. A former steward himself, the 61-year-old believes the rules should be applied equally at all stages of the race.

"The biggest problem for me is that anything that tends to happen on the first corner, the first lap, they tend to turn a blind eye because the tyres are cold and they're not quite up to speed," Herbert told AdventureGamers.

"If something happens, they won't apply a penalty. I don't agree with it. They're the very best in the world and as we saw in Mexico, did they all then take the mickey with that first lap? Probably yes, because they all could get away with it.

"When Max tried to go around the outside and was sort of running out of room, he got on the track without losing anything. Then we saw a Charles cut across and he didn't lose anything.

"He gained. He was level with Lewis, but he ended up being in front of Max, so he was second and he didn't get a penalty for it."

Herbert also said that while Hamilton's punishment for leaving the track was 'harsh', the stewards were left with little choice but to hand down a 10-second penalty.

"If Lewis had just slowed up and let Max get right off his backside, I don't think he would have got a penalty," he added.

"People were saying the 10-second penalty was too harsh, but 10-second penalties should be across the board whenever it may be.

"Is that harsh in some circumstances? Yes. Was it harsh on Lewis? Yes. But you can't say: 'We'll just give him a five-second [penalty]'. No, you can't do that.

"Drivers know that there is potentially going to be a penalty, but you have a look in your mirrors, you know you have come out with a gap which wasn't there when he went into that turn."