Explained: Why Lewis Hamilton was handed a 5-second penalty in the F1 Brazilian GP

Lewis Hamilton received a five-second time penalty at the 2025 Brazil GP for causing a collision. The Ferrari star was involved in a collision with Alpine's Franco Colapinto, following which the British driver received a time penalty during the race at Interlagos.

The start of the Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace race on Sunday saw chaos one after another, where multiple drivers were on the receiving end of a time penalty. From Hamilton, Yuki Tsunoda, to Oscar Piastri, the drivers faced punishment by the FIA.

In Lap 4 of the race, Hamilton, who started his race from P13, made contact with Colapinto and damaged his front wing and the floor of his car. However, the contact also ruined his race as he was hit with a five-second time penalty.

As a result of the penalty, Hamilton came out at last and was running in P18. With a damaged floor and no point in contention, the team retired Hamilton's car midway through the race.

Notably, Hamilton's teammate, Charles Leclerc, also retired from the race after getting wrecked by Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli. Antonelli was pushed by Oscar Piastri, who also received a 10-second time penalty. Besides, Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc, home hero Gabriel Bortoleto, also retired from the race.

Lando Norris, who started the race from pole, was leading the race at the time of publishing this article. Max Verstappen and Oscar Piastri were in P2 and P3, respectively.

Kimi Antonelli, Liam Lawson, and George Russell were in P4, P5, and P6, respectively. Oliver Bearman, Nico Hulkenberg, Alex Albon, and Lance Stroll were all within P10.

Lewis Hamilton reacted to his timed-penalty at Brazil GP

Reacting to his timed penalty at the 2025 Brazil GP at Interlagos, Lewis Hamilton shared his thoughts. Speaking to the radio, the seven-time world champion voiced his frustration.

Pointing at the race stewards, here's what he said:

Lewis Hamilton of Great Britain driving the (44) Scuderia Ferrari SF-25 on track during the F1 Grand Prix of Brazil at Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace on November 09, 2025 in Sao Paulo, Brazil - Source: Getty

After 21 races and five sprints, Hamilton is in P6 of the Drivers' Championship with 148 points. His teammate, Charles Leclerc, is in P5 with 214 points. Ferrari are in P3 of the Constructors' Championship with 362 points.

Edited by Sabyasachi Biswas