"Everything to protect Max Verstappen and his toxic fans": Fans react to Lewis Hamilton getting a 3-place grid penalty for the F1 Monaco GP

F1 fans were left enraged after Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton was given a three-place grid penalty for impeding Red Bull driver Max Verstappen during the 2025 Monaco Grand Prix qualifying. The British driver had a positive qualifying session in the streets of the principality as he finished P4 ahead of his longtime rival.

However, earlier in the session, Hamilton was seen driving slowly on the racing line in the first sector and blocked Verstappen when the latter was on a push lap. The incident was blamed on the miscommunication between the seven-time F1 world champion and his race engineer, Riccardo Adami, and was referred to the race stewards.

After calibration, the stewards decided to give Lewis Hamilton a three-place grid penalty for his excursion and demoted him to P7 for the main race on Sunday. The FIA, in its statement, explained the whole incident and its verdict.

"During the hearing, the fact of the team’s incorrect message leading to the incident was accepted by the driver of Car 44. As with previous incidents of this nature where a driver has received inaccurate or incomplete information resulting in a car impeding another, the fact that the radio message was the cause of the impeding does not amount to a mitigating factor," the FIA said in a statement.

F1 fans took to social media to give their reactions to Lewis Hamilton's penalty on X, with one fan saying:

"Everything to protect VERSTAPPEN and his toxic fans ..nice,"

ADi

@@stfuItsAdi

Everything to protect VERSTAPPEN and his toxic fans ..nice 👏

"Ricky when I find you Ricky,"

Motho

@@human1883

Ricky when I find you Ricky

Here are some more reactions:

"Didn't affect Max's qualifying," said a fan.

"Absolutely unnecessary..." wrote another.

"Hamilton hit with 3-place penalty, Monaco grid shaken before the race even begins," claimed another.

"Shoutouts to Ferrari for that on. Unprofessional communication again… nothing new," pointed out another.

Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen were seen talking about the incident in the parc ferme after the qualifying session.

Lewis Hamilton reflects on impeding Max Verstappen in qualifying

Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton stated that it was difficult to keep out of everyone's way in the narrow streets of Monaco after impeding Max Verstappen.

"Very difficult to keep out of the way of everybody. I think I was doing a good job of staying out of the way of everyone but then the team said Max was on a fast lap so I was to the left, then they said 'no he's not on a fast lap'," Hamilton was quoted as saying by Sky Sports.

"I was just about to get back on power. I accelerated for 10 metres. I was off the line but for sure distracting him."

Hamilton will have the opportunity to make up some places in the main race through strategic decisions and score on good points from the weekend.