27 October 2023 , 07:32
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Lewis Hamilton believes more cars should be checked after races after being disqualified from last Sunday's United States Grand Prix.
The seven-time world champion finished second last time out after producing one of Mercedes' best displays since 2021 when they last won the Constructors' Championship. Yet Hamilton was forced to return his runners-up trophy after being disqualified.
Hamilton's car was declared illegal during a post-race review for excessive wear on the underfloor skid blocks. It was a frustrating climax to the Brit's race weekend after finishing in P2, a result that's hard to achieve due to the dominance of Red Bull.
Hamilton's car was only reviewed because of a spot check. The Mercedes icon believes all cars should be reviewed after races to ensure the process is equal. He thinks that "far more" cars would've been found illegal if all 20 were checked last Sunday.
"What's crazy is they only test four cars, 50 cent fail," said Hamilton ahead of this Sunday's Mexican Grand Prix. "And I've had information from many others that were also illegal but they got away with it. That's messed up."
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He added: "There have been many other scenarios like this where some people have got away with certain things and some people have got unlucky and got tested. There needs to be some form of better structure to make sure it is fair and even across the board."
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Ferrari's Charles Leclerc was also disqualified from last Sunday's race for the same offence. Lando Norris saw his McLaren checked but was cleared, and he's questioned why Ferrari's Carlos Sainz and Mercedes' George Russell weren't investigated too.
Norris said: "I would love it if they had checked more cars. It can always bite you. They checked mine first. It's more (across) teams. It's unlikely two (cars in one team) are that different. If one car is illegal then there's a high chance the other car is."
The FIA insists there isn't enough time to check all 20 cars. Formula 1's governing body said: "(The process) exists to ensure compliance with the regulations by virtue of the fact that the teams do not know before the race which specific areas of which cars might be examined beyond the standard checks carried out on every car each weekend.
"Even though a wide array of checks are made, it is impossible to cover every parameter of every car in the short time available - and this is especially true of back-to-back race weekends when freight deadlines must also be considered."