A FUMING Lewis Hamilton called out “cheats” as he was slapped with a ten-second time penalty after a scuffle with Max Verstappen.
The old title rivals were battling for third at the Mexico Grand Prix and both went off as Verstappen went to overtake him.
Amid a race which had already seen a loose approach to track limits, Verstappen went for it on the seven-time world champ but cut the corner at Turn Two.
Hamilton then went off at Turn Four with Ollie Bearman somehow getting in the mix and nudging by Verstappen.
The Brit ended up re-joining the track well ahead of his rival, but did not give the place back to him.
The stewards were very busy with drivers under investigation for failing to follow the race directors’ notes after the incident.
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They explained their position: “By leaving the track and cutting the corner, the driver gained a lasting advantage, overtaking Car 1 (VER) and failing to give back the position thereafter.
“The standard penalty for leaving the track and gaining a lasting advantage is therefore imposed.”
Hamilton said: “What about all the other cars that have cheated?!” when he was told of the punishment.
He continued: “That’s such **** man. The grip is so small there, the grip there is so low.”
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The British 40-year-old served his penalty and re-emerged all the way back in 14th while Verstappen avoided punishment.
The decision had big implications for Verstappen, who made more ground on Oscar Piastri in the title race, and stopped race-winner Lando Norris from building an unassailable lead as he leapfrogged his team-mate to the top of the table.
It is the first time the Brit has lead the Championship standings in six months, with just four races left to run.
And what a way to do it, by securing the longest winning margin of the season with 30 seconds between him and the next closest driver as boxing legend Evander Holyfield waved the checkered flag.
The result came after both Verstappen and Leclerc had run wide in a chaotic start, which pole-sitter Norris survived.
Four-time world champion Verstappen went well wide and cut the first corner to go running into the grass.
Ferrari’s Leclerc then cut Turn Two but gave Norris the place back so the McLaren driver was leading the race ahead of the Monegasque man.
Meanwhile Verstappen was forced to hand back third place back to his old foe Hamilton.
And there was early contact on the Dutchman who was tagged, with another one of his rivals, Russell, making contact.
Verstappen was left with a flat spot on his front right tyre but his pace meant he was going toe to toe with Hamilton in the battle for third.
Meanwhile Piastri’s frustrations were simmering behind George Russell, with him in DRS range for five laps but unable to get the move done.
Russell was sassy as he was told to manage his brakes, snapping back with “We got a Ferrari and a Haas ahead, we can fight for a podium here”.
Fernando Alonso called it a day having run all the way down the field to join Nico Hulkenberg and Liam Lawson as the third retirement.
Russell was seething at being held up by his teammate Kimi Antonelli as he sarcastically asked his team “do you want me to let this McLaren past”
His engineer replied “no” with Russell wanting to be let through as he was stalling behind his teammate Kimi Antonelli.
The furious Merc man fumed on the radio again saying “Marcus I’ve got a f***ing car in my a**. A car much quicker than ours” before finally the positions were swapped.
With 11 laps to go Piastri overtook Russell with a stunning dive down the inside of the Mercedes man to nab fifth.
The two Mercedes team-mates were swapped back and Bearman used excellent race craft to keep Piastri at bay.
Haas’ best ever race finish is fourth, and there was half a lap of racing to finish as a virtual safety car was called out as Carlos Sainz retired and stopped in the final sector.
But not all was rosy for Norris as he went to enjoy his post-race glory.
Some of the crowd in Mexico City weren’t too happy about the result and booed the Brit when he was giving his post-race interview.
There was another spattering of boos when Norris took the podium.
The 25-year-old McLaren driver was also booed when he took to the podium for second-place in Monza in September.
He said: “It’s one weekend at a time. I’m happy, I’m focused on myself.
“I keep my head down, I ignore all of this, keep to myself. It’s working at the minute, so I’m happy.”
When asked about the win itself, he added: “I love it. What a race. I could just keep my eyes focused and forward and focus on what I was doing.
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“A pretty straightforward race for me which is just what I was after. A good start, a good launch, a good first lap and I could go from there.
“I got a much better launch than the guys around. It’s my first win in Mexico and a beautiful one to get.”
