Mexican GP results change: Stewards hand out three penalties as Hirakawa moves into the top 10

If you checked the Mexican Grand Prix results this morning, you might have thought there were a few mistakes. Several positions changed at 3am our time, much to the delight of debutant Ryo Hirakawa in particular. Three penalties catapulted him into the top 10.

Oscar Piastri was the first to receive a post-race penalty, for causing a collision with Arvid Lindblad at Turn 1. In this case, the stewards had little to debate. They followed the driving standards guidelines, which placed the blame for the collision on the Australian.

“On the approach to Turn 1, the driver of Car 81 attempted an overtake on the outside of Car 41,” the verdict read. “Car 81 was never fully alongside Car 41 so was not able to claim the right to the corner. Through Turn 1, the driver of Car 41 defended his position by releasing the brakes, however does not force Car 81 off the track, allowing racing room on the outside – which he is not required to do.”

The stewards judged that Piastri was not entitled to the corner and had an opportunity to avoid the collision. “The Stewards determined that the collision could have been avoided if the driver of Car 81 had moved further to the left after Turn 1, even if this involved leaving the track prior to Turn 2.”

Alpine lose all their points

After Piastri, the FIA turned its attention to Franco Colapinto and Pierre Gasly. The Alpine pair took the chequered flag in eighth and 10th. Both, however, breached the yellow flag rules, with Gasly failing to respect double waved yellows.

In Gasly’s case, the stewards immediately dismissed Alpine’s defence that he had reduced his speed “significantly” in the double yellow flag sector. After reviewing the telemetry, the FIA judged that his lift off the throttle had in fact been little more than a token gesture and did not meet the requirements of the regulations. Gasly therefore had 30 seconds added to his race time, the equivalent of the drive-through penalty imposed.

Franco Colapinto received a lesser, 10-second penalty. His hearing followed a very similar pattern to his team-mate’s: based on the telemetry, the stewards rejected the claim that he had slowed sufficiently. His offence, however, occurred in a sector covered by a single yellow flag rather than double yellows.

These changes to the results will please George Russell, Liam Lawson, Gabriel Bortoleto and the aforementioned Ryo Hirakawa, who scored points on his race debut. The Japanese driver became the 358th driver to score at least one point during his career. Of those, 81 had scored on their debut before Hirakawa.

1. Max Verstappen (+25 pts)
2. Lewis Hamilton (+18 pts)
3. Kimi Antonelli (+15 pts)
4. Charles Leclerc (+12 pts)
5. Lando Norris (+10 pts)
6. George Russell (+8 pts)
7. Liam Lawson (+6 pts)
8. Gabriel Bortoleto (+4 pts)
9. Isack Hadjar (+2 pts)
10. Ryo Hirakawa (+1 pt)
11. Alex Albon
12. Carlos Sainz
13. Oscar Piastri
14. Nico Hülkenberg
15. Franco Colapinto
16. Sergio Pérez
17. Pierre Gasly
18. Arvid Lindblad
19. Oliver Bearman
20. Valtteri Bottas
21. Lance Stroll
22. Fernando Alonso