Should Max Verstappen have been penalised? Martin Brundle weighs in

Martin Brundle and Jacques Villeneuve believe more penalties should have been handed out for the opening-lap incidents at the Mexico City Grand Prix.

Both Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen ended up cutting Turn 2 and emerging in first and third respectively after going four-wide with polesitter Lando Norris and Lewis Hamilton on the long drag to Turn 1.

Leclerc gave the lead back to Norris but stayed ahead of Hamilton, while Verstappen conceded position to the seven-time world champion.

The tactics of Leclerc and Verstappen drew fury from their rivals, with Mercedes’ George Russell, who stayed on the track with Norris and Hamilton, blasting what he felt was “lawnmower racing”.

Neither Leclerc or Verstappen faced punishment for the incident, but Hamilton was later handed a 10-second time penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage at Turn 4 following a tense battle with Verstappen.

Asked whether Leclerc or Verstappen should have been penalised for the start, 1997 world champion Villeneuve said: ”Max not, because he was ahead of Russell anyway and he gave all the places back. So that was fine.

"Leclerc, yes, because he was actually behind Lewis [at Turn One]. He didn't even try to make the corner, he stepped on it and realised, 'oh, it's my team-mate, nothing will happen to me'."

When asked if he agreed with Villeneuve that Leclerc deserved a penalty, Brundle replied: "100 per cent yes. Max should have had a penalty [also].

"If you put your car on the far left in four abreast it will go on the kerb, but Max had no intention. You can see him actually accelerate - really skilful driving through the grass, I must say - but Max made no effort whatsoever to take turns one, two or three and that should have been a penalty.”

Villeneuve immediately responded: "I only half disagree. The thing is, intent is one thing, and we cannot really put intent in the rules, it's difficult. I was just going by the rules: by the rules [Verstappen] was ahead of George, let [Hamilton] back, so by the rules it didn't deserve a penalty.

"By the action, yes, so how do you proceed? Do you follow the rules or you go with what we know is right and wrong? And right now you just have to go with the rules because the rules have been put in the place, and the rules are actually very badly written.”

Does Mexico have a Turn 1 problem?

Since Mexico returned to the F1 calendar in 2015, there have been several occurrences of drivers running straight across Turn 2.

Hamilton did so in 2016, while Carlos Sainz also cut the corner while attempting to pass Verstappen last year, though the then-Ferrari driver did give the place back to his rival.

So can anything be done to improve the situation?

"The problem is that corner," Villeneuve said.

"If you have gravel there or a wall, you wouldn't be four-wide. You'd be two-wide maybe and everyone else would back off because they would know there is not an escape road.

"Now they think, 'oh, it doesn't matter, if I just brake way too late, I might be ahead, I'll come out ahead, maybe I'll let them by or not - nothing lost, it's worth the risk'.

“That's why we have these crazy first corners on that track, that is an issue we will have every year. Just drivers dive-bombing on the outside knowing they can just go straight."

Brundle added: "The geography out there [off track at T1] is just hopeless. It needs zones, it needs a place you've got to pass through.

“Maybe even a zone where you have to proceed at pit-lane speed limit for 100 metres or 50 metres or something to really make it almost as big a deterrent as a barrier in Monaco, and then they won't go out there. It's as simple as that.

"I can completely understand those drivers that were minding their business and actually staying on the race track going 'hang on, I'm losing out here, I might as well just make my own race track up in the first two corners and gain some places.’”