Chaos took over the recently concluded United States Grand Prix as Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc were disqualified after the race due to regulation infringement. Hamilton’s hard-fought P2 finish went in vain, whereas Leclerc’s weekend got worse from bad. Four cars were selected for random inspection, out of which 50% were found in violation.
Apparently, the width of the plank of Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc’s car exceeded the limit allowed by FIA. And the only punishment for this infringement is a disqualification. However, a former racing driver, Martin Brundle, has raised doubts about FIA’s intent. He feels the governing body could have been extra vigilant with compliance checks to ensure fairness.
Martin Brundle Says FIA Should Have Checked Setups Of All The Cars At Austin!
The circuit of Austin is bumpy, and the teams did not have enough practice sessions to determine the right setup. Thus, Mercedes and Ferrari messed up by widening the width of the plank of the car, which saw Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc getting disqualified after the race. Moreover, the teams did not challenge the ruling since they were indeed in violation. However, Martin Brundle wasn’t happy with FIA’s selective checks. FIA has a method of picking out random cars for compliance checks after every race. At Austin, they picked Max Verstappen, Lewis Hamilton, Lando Norris, and Charles Leclerc for inspection, out of which 50% of the cars were found in violation.
Thus, Brundle believes that given the track condition, FIA should have checked all the cars from the rest of the field. Had they extended their area of search, a lot of cars could have come under the scanner. It was a lucky escape for those in violation, feels Brundle. Having said that, the former driver did admit that getting the setup right at Austin was a challenging task for all the teams. Moreover, the addition of a sprint race squeezed the margin of error. Still, Brundle says that during unusual situations and track conditions, FIA should have to extend their compliance check and not just stay limited to random selection. Protecting the integrity of the sport should be the governing body’s top priority.
Lewis Hamilton Encouraged With USA GP Results Despite Disqualification!
Meanwhile, Lewis Hamilton had a wide smile on his face even though he had just been disqualified from the USA GP. Hamilton, who secured P2 with a gap of less than two seconds to Verstappen, said that the disqualification cannot take away the positives Mercedes witnessed during the race weekend. He said that for the first time in the whole season, he felt comfortable driving the W14.
Not only that, but Lewis Hamilton also believed that he had the race pace to defend Max Verstappen, who was managing braking issues throughout the race. However, the pit-stop strategy mishap cost Hamilton six crucial seconds. Nonetheless, the British driver is confident of chasing Verstappen by the end of this year or early 2024, as he feels his team is heading in the right direction.
