Laurent Mekies believes the stewards were too soft on Charles Leclerc after the Ferrari driver's first-lap incident at the Mexico City Grand Prix, a race won by Max Verstappen.
According to Motorsport.com, the team principal told reporters after the race that the five-second time penalty given to Leclerc "felt a bit light", although he accepted that the decision had to stand.
The flashpoint came at Turn 4 on the opening lap at the AutĂłdromo Hermanos RodrĂguez, where Leclerc and Hamilton fought side by side and both left the circuit. Leclerc was judged to have gone off track and gained a lasting advantage.
Mekies said his immediate reaction as a rival was that a sanction should follow. He added that he was surprised by how long race control took to confirm it, and by the fact that it was limited to five seconds.
The delay, he explained, reduced the penalty's effect. By the time the ruling arrived, Leclerc had used the clear track ahead of him to build a lead of roughly five seconds or more over Hamilton, meaning the deduction made little difference to the Ferrari pair's order.
Mekies's pitwall also responded tactically. When Leclerc came in for new tyres, Verstappen was called in on the same lap, preventing Ferrari from gaining an undercut. Mekies credited his strategy group for the call, saying the team took a chance based on the gap and the pending penalty, and that it paid off.
He also praised Verstappen for holding off both Ferraris during the first stint, describing it as a very good job while the cars were racing together.