Lewis Hamilton was, along with Charles Leclerc, one of the drivers disqualified from the United States Grand Prix Formula 1 race due to the floor plank being too worn out compared to what the rules stipulate.
They were two of the four cars analyzed after the Austin race, which leads the veteran British driver from Mercedes to believe that this was just the “tip of the iceberg”: ‘Basically, this was the first time we had a sprint race there and they only tested a few cars and 50 percent of them were disqualified. There are many more cars that were illegal,’ he told Sky Sports F1.
Hamilton assured that he has information that other drivers were also found to have infringements, so he advocates for a more effective monitoring system: ‘I heard from several different sources that there were many other cars that were also illegal, but they were not examined, so they escaped. I have been competing here for 16 years. There have been several other scenarios like this where some got away with certain things and some people just had the bad luck of being tested. So, I think ultimately there probably needs to be some better structure in terms of ensuring that it is fair and balanced.’
Although he acknowledges that the regulations were violated, the seven-time champion clarified that the piece in question is not decisive in terms of performance: ‘The plank is not a performance element. Of course, if you have a flat surface, everyone will lower their car as much as possible. But it is mainly about some cars managing the bumps better than others, and we had a very stiff car that was bouncing in the last two years. But ultimately, it violated the regulations and that needs to change.’
