Max Verstappen leaps to F1 rival Lewis Hamilton’s defence as he pleads with FIA to make rule change
MAX VERSTAPPEN has called on the FIA to make a change after Lewis Hamilton was disqualified at last week’s US Grand Prix.
Hamilton and Charles Leclerc had finished P2 and P6 respectively before they were disqualified after being found to have run illegal floors.
Max Verstappen called on the FIA to make a change following the US GP disqualificationsRex
Instagram @lewishamiltonLewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc were both disqualified for running illegal floors[/caption]
GettyVerstappen said more cars should be checked[/caption]
The skidblock, or planks, that run along the centre of the car which are designed to protect it from scraping along the floor have to be a certain thickness.
Hamilton claimed his penalty came after his rear end skidblock failed to make the minimum requirement by 0.05mm.
The seven-time F1 champion fumed ahead of the weekend’s Mexican GP that more cars should have been checked due to his belief that more than 50 per cent of the cars would have been illegal.
Martin Brundle was critical of the FIA ruling following the race.
And this sentiment was echoed by champion Verstappen.
Speaking to media ahead of the race in Mexico, the reigning champion said: “Of course nobody tries to do it on purpose, but because of the Sprint format, you only have one practice session to nail everything.
“Once you are in the wrong [set-up], there’s nothing you can do, the only thing you can is bump on the tyre pressure – but then you’re driving around on balloon tyres.
“It is not what you want to see for them, but also as a team, we know that dropping the car gives you that performance, but it is because of the whole format that you put yourself in that position because normally, I don’t think anyone would in a normal weekend.
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“The problem is that it is just impossible to check everything but the thought process from every team is that no-one wants to be illegal, no-one sets the car up to be illegal.
“With the random checks that get carried out, I mean sometimes it is the top four, sometimes it is in the middle of the field, that is just how it goes.
“You can’t check every car for every single part, otherwise we need 100 more people to do these kind of things, but I think the only thing is that if you check one car, and it is illegal, you should check the other one as well.”
Verstappen, 26, has reportedly been assigned bodyguards during his time in Mexico City owing to fans blaming him for the struggles of Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez this season.
The Dutchman – now a three-time F1 champ – is well known to not be a fan of the Sprint race format.
F1 bosses are considering “radical” new plans to spruce up the weekends when they come around, including a reverse grid race.
However, Hamilton has previously been critical of such an idea, while now-retired four-time F1 champ Sebastian Vettel did not mince his words and labelled it “bulls***” in 2019.
In the week since the US GP in Austin, Texas, Hamilton has thrown a party for his beloved dog Roscoe and announced a new career move with a non-alcoholic spirit called Almave.
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