There is a striking difference in the way Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc have taken their respective disqualifications from last week’s United States Grand Prix. Having had a few days to stew on the punishment, both drivers have given an updated verdict ahead of Sunday’s race in Mexico.
Hamilton and Leclerc were found to have worn their skid blocks down to illegal levels at a bumpy Circuit of the Americas, where teams struggled to commit to a satisfactory ride height which maximised performance while staying within the rules.
The two disqualifications dished out by the FIA came from only four drivers being tested, with Hamilton convinced that there were plenty of other ‘illegal’ cars in the field which should have been penalised in the same way.
“Basically that was the first time we’d had a Sprint race there and they had only tested a few cars and 50 per cent of them got disqualified,” the Brit told Sky Sports.
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“I’ve heard from several different sources that there were a lot of other cars that were also illegal, but they weren’t tested so they got away with it. I’ve been racing here for 16 years.
“There’s been many other scenarios like this where some people have gotten away with certain things and some people have just been unlucky that they’ve got tested. So I think ultimately there probably needs to be some sort of better structure in terms of making sure it’s fair and even across the board.”
With only four races left of the 2023 season, Mercedes and Ferrari are in the midst of a heated scrap to tie up second place in the Constructors’ Championship.
Red Bull have already sewn up the title, with 17 wins from a possible 18 this season, and Mercedes are in the drivers’ seat in the race for P2, sitting 22 points ahead of Ferrari going into the Mexican Grand Prix.
