Near Miss with Hamilton, Verstappen Defends His Controversial Maneuver

Drama unfolded on the track at the 2025 Mexico City Grand Prix as Red Bull's Max Verstappen engaged in a heated duel with Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton. During the race held at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez on Monday, October 27, 2025, Verstappen defended his aggressive opening-lap maneuver as a legitimate part of racing.

Verstappen executed a bold move entering the first corner, taking the inside line against Hamilton to seize third position. 

The action brought both cars perilously close to collision before Verstappen successfully cut across the track to gain the advantage. 

Hamilton, having lost position, attempted to retaliate at the fourth corner but ultimately failed.

“The rules allow you to do what we did in today’s racing. Now people may agree with that maneuver or not, but those are the rules. I think the whole weekend has been quite tough, but this result with a podium finish is positive,” Verstappen stated to Formula 1 on Monday.

The Dutch driver secured third place on the podium after fierce battles not only with Hamilton but also Ollie Bearman (Haas) and George Russell (Mercedes).

This result keeps Verstappen’s championship hopes alive. He currently holds third in the standings, trailing championship leader Lando Norris (McLaren) by 36 points. Norris has accumulated 357 points.

While acknowledging his Red Bull’s performance wasn’t as strong as McLaren’s, Verstappen expressed satisfaction with the outcome. 

“We had a good final stint; I enjoyed it. I think we were slightly more competitive than all the cars around us, except McLaren. Personally, I didn’t expect to be on the podium today,” said the four-time reigning world champion.

The Mexican podium provides crucial momentum for Verstappen ahead of the next round, the Brazilian Grand Prix, scheduled for November 10. 

With stabilizing performance and reignited competitive spirit, Verstappen is poised to continue his pursuit of maintaining dominance on the F1 circuit.