F1 drivers talk about checking all cars after being disqualified from US Grand Prix, but only a handful are unlucky enough to be checked
Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc were disqualified from the US Grand Prix, leaving Max Verstappen and Lando Norris unharmed, but questions were raised over the post-race spot checks. As with some events where such checks were carried out, only four vehicles were checked.
Given consecutive weekends and the general lack of time to check all 20 cars, the FIA randomly selects a car to perform this comprehensive analysis . All 10 F1 teams are aware of this and have agreed to the regulations.
However, given the track conditions at the US GP and the fact that it was a sprint weekend, F1 drivers believe there were more cars where planking would have been considered illegal. And no one has a clear solution to this problem. Because it could happen to anyone at the next Grand Prix.
Here’s what F1 drivers think about the situation –
Lewis Hamilton: “I came back from the press conference and was about to go into the ice bath, and Toto came running up to me and said, “What a great day! I was obviously in shock because it was a great race. But yeah, and I didn’t find out exactly until I got home. Yes, after that day I was a little disappointed, but as much as I could get. There were some positive things. First, I heard from various sources that there were many other illegal cars. However, because they were not tested, they escaped without charge. I’ve been racing here for 16 years and there have been several other scenarios like this, with some people getting away with certain things and others just being unlucky with their tests. . So I think ultimately we probably need a better structure to make sure everything is fair and uniform across the board. I’ve never had a problem like this in Austin. It was just because we had the sprint race as well, so an easy solution, an easy fix for that one, for example, is that we are able to change the floors after the… Well, just approach the weekend differently, where the car is not set already from Friday morning.
“Especially at the bumpiest track that we’ve been on, because that’s really the only reason that there are failures, it’s just because it’s so bumpy, and some cars have better ride quality than others. Look at the Ferrari, look at Charles’ head and my head. We have pretty bad ride, and our heads are bumping around quite a lot because the car is hitting the deck. It’s not because we generally are just pushing the car too low. I think firstly we need to just address the point that last year, our car was best when it was low, super low. So we were low and stiff. Our car works better at high ride heights now. So it’s not that we’re just pushing the car too low. It was just an unfortunate scenario. 0.05 [mm] failure on the rear skid, it’s not going to make the difference between winning and losing. So that error wasn’t the reason that we were as fast as were. So that’s why it’s just been painful for us. Because, you know, if we had changed our rear springs, for example, perhaps we would have had better ride. But anyways, we’re hopeful that the performance will continue this weekend. And yeah, just making sure that guys don’t overreact. I think that it is all right. ”
Charles Leclerc: “It was a complete surprise, because when I was able to change the car on Friday, there was no wear at all. I didn’t touch it anywhere. The race came and obviously things changed but we were illegal. Rules are rules and must be followed no matter what. So to say Friday was okay is no excuse. We need to take a closer look at this to better predict what the Sunday population decline will be. There are many others. There is also curb riding, and there are many different things, but curb riding is also one thing. But in the end I should have calculated it better and I will address it in the future. Even on Saturday evening, I was surprised because I thought there was still a lot of room for maneuver, as I could more or less see where they were in contact with each other. Then it ended on Sunday, which was a big surprise. So I’m still analyzing exactly where I wore the board more than expected. Because it was unexpected. ”
Max Verstappen: “I don’t think anyone would do that on purpose. In this sprint format, you only have one training session where you try to achieve everything perfectly. is even more important, and once you get it wrong you can’t do anything. I think they should exclude sprint week and then allow everyone to set up their cars normally. In a normal race week, that’s not the case. Because it’s not going to happen. This kind of thing only happens on sprint weekends when everything is hectic between FP1 and qualifying and you think, “Hmm, maybe it’s okay.” vice versa. The only option is to increase the tire pressure, but if you do that, you’ll be running around on balloon tires. So, of course, that’s not what you want to see and I don’t think so as a team either.
“Of course I know I can perform when I get out of the car, but I think this whole format has put me in this position. Because I don’t think there’s anyone who can do it on a normal weekend. If that happens, we won’t know the race results until we check all the cars on Tuesday. The problem is that it’s simply impossible to check everything. But no one sets up their cars to be illegal because no team wants anyone to be illegal. Of course there are random checks, sometimes it’s the top four, sometimes it’s the middle of the field, sometimes it’s the back of the field. That is the current situation. You can’t check every part of every car, otherwise you’d need another 100 people to do something like that. I think if you check one of the team’s cars and it’s illegal, you should check the other one as well. That’s the only thing for me. Otherwise, because when you do a DQ, the other one moves to one position above her and usually always uses a very similar setup. ”
Nico Hulkenberg: “If I hadn’t done that, I might have been doing something illegal myself!” You never know. Obviously, these cars are very sensitive to ride height. The lower it is, the more downforce it has. This is a constant battle we are fighting and we have to find the right balance. I think Austin is a little special in terms of bumps. It also has a lot of apex and exit edges, making it quite aggressive to ride. However, since I use a board and wear out washers frequently, I can see differently that something may need to be changed. yes.
Pierre Gasly: “I think there are some things we can do to improve on what happened in Austin, starting with the sprint weekend where there will only be FP1 sessions at tracks like this You drive 15 laps with the car relatively low on fuel. What happens over the next 70 laps, which includes two qualifying sessions, a sprint race, a full 59-lap Grand Prix, and lots of fuel. Just to figure it out. After FP1 you’re almost blind and have very little information about where to go. So I think it’s difficult. Perhaps this process can be improved to give you more time to adjust as needed. I remember when I was riding a cart. Back then, all three of the best cars were constantly checked. You must undergo a check every time you reach the podium, and there may also be random checks to determine your placement. But yeah, I think that’s always been in the past. In F1, it is not common to check all three top cars. But it was difficult and I think the sprint format made it even more difficult considering there was very little time to set up the car.
Alexander Albon: “Same as Pierre and Nico. I don’t think there’s too much to add. I think, as Pierre touched on, what the teams have in terms of data and information to set the ride heights for the weekend is very marginal, there’s not even really enough time to fill the cars up in FP1, just to get a feel for where they need to be. But on the same side, I do think, maybe you don’t need to check every car, every race all the time. But, you know, if there’s one, one driver in one team illegal, there’s a very, very high chance that the other car, the teammate of that driver, is going to be illegal as well. So I don’t know how much it would cost to check a few more cars, but I don’t think it will matter much. But I’m not a technical committee member, so I don’t know. ”
Esteban Ocon: “Yes, I’ll join these guys again. I think it’s a very difficult exercise. Guess how high your car is .Of course, there are risks and rewards with this type of exercise. Lowering the car gives you more power, but you also run the risk of doing something illegal with the plank. Yeah, I mean, these things make my weekend I’ve seen cars that have had their setup changed. And yes, FP1 is too short to actually set up the machine. Yeah, I don’t think it’s the first time there are illegal vehicles like this on a weekend like this or a sprint weekend. I think that’s much less likely in normal format. But I’m sure it’s true for other races as well. ”
Yuki Tsynoda: “Yes, it’s pretty suitable for everyone. But I won the prize money in the last fight, so for now I don’t see any need to change.” p>
George Russell: “I think it’s a completely different layout here.Obviously in the session in Austin, we did all the standard checks after FP1 and the planks are totally fine. So there was no reason to make any changes after training, but obviously I was completely wrong. I expect the nature of this track to be more conservative, but after three training sessions We don’t expect any problems.”
Click here to learn more about Mercedes’ results.
Here’s Mercedes, Ferrari reacting to DQ
Here’s what the FIA said about the DQ
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