Lewis Hamilton raises plank suspicions as he speaks out in Mexico – F1 news round-up

Henry Valantine
Lewis Hamilton speaks to the media.

Lewis Hamilton has a number of business ventures away from F1.

Thursday’s F1 news contains plenty of talk of disqualifications in Austin, as the topic reared its head again as Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc spoke out publicly for the first time since their striking from the record at the last race.

Carlos Sainz was absent from the press conferences as he nursed an illness (get well soon, Carlos!), but there was plenty to talk about coming away from the media sessions.

It’s been another busy day as the drivers prepare for their weekend of action in Mexico City, so let’s dive into Thursday’s F1 news.

Lewis Hamilton: ‘Far more cars were illegal’ in Austin

Lewis Hamilton was one of four cars to have his plank and skids tested after the race in Austin, and with two of the four coming back as non-compliant, Charles Leclerc being the other, both were disqualified from the race for excessive wear to that part of their cars.

But given the limited number of cars tested for that element, the Mercedes driver was unimpressed to see that nothing else had been done to the other drivers, with the high failure rate in that small sample.

“There are a lot of people who don’t actually have a true understanding of what effect the skid was having,” Hamilton told Sky Sports F1.

“But basically, that was the first time we’ve had a sprint race there. They only tested a few cars and 50 percent of them got disqualified. There were far more drivers’ cars that were illegal.

“Every time we take a step forward within the sport, something like that really taints it. We’ve got to do something. Hopefully, they’ll learn a little bit for the future, rather than checking everybody and over 50 per cent of the cars failing, which I would put all my money on that they would have, maybe if we have a sprint race, maybe we should be able to change the skid or the floor, whatever it is, on a Saturday night so suddenly you don’t have this ridiculous kind of event afterwards.”

Read more: ‘Far more cars were illegal’ – Irate Lewis Hamilton urges F1 to ‘learn something’

‘I might have been illegal myself…’ – Other drivers weigh in on plank saga

Given that only four cars get checked for that part of their car, several other drivers may well have counted themselves lucky that their planks and skids were not checked after the US Grand Prix, given the stringent demands on the cars at a bumpy Circuit of The Americas.

Only one practice session meant that the cars were in parc fermé after one hour of running compared to the usual three, and Max Verstappen admitted Red Bull probably went too high with their car, though others admitted they may have been closer to the line of legality last week and got away with it.

“I might have been illegal myself,” Nico Hulkenberg said.

“You never know. Obviously, these cars are incredibly sensitive to ride height – the lower you get, the more downforce you get, that’s the constant fight we have and we need to find the right balance.”

Alex Albon added: “Maybe you don’t need to check every car, every race, all the time but if there’s one driver in one team illegal, there’s a very, very high chance that the teammate of that driver is going to be illegal as well.

“I don’t know how much it would take to check a couple more cars, but I don’t think that would be such an issue. But I don’t know, I’m not a scrutineer.”

Read more: ‘I might have been illegal myself!’ – Drivers weigh in on US GP plank checks controversy

Max Verstappen to receive bodyguard protection in Mexico

Given the partisan support for Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez this weekend in Mexico, Max Verstappen will be accompanied by two bodyguards over security concerns.

Red Bull motorsport advisor Helmut Marko confirmed the news, even though it has gone against the three-time World Champion’s wishes.

“Max doesn’t really want that and is relaxed,” Marko told F1-Insider.com.

“But we have responsibility for him. That’s why we just want to play it safe.”

Read more: Red Bull provide Max Verstappen with bodyguards at Mexican Grand Prix

FIA under spotlight after track limits concerns in US Grand Prix

A report from Germany has claimed the FIA has left drivers ‘fuming’ after track limits breaches at the US Grand Prix apparently went undetected.

According to Auto Motor und Sport, an incorrectly placed camera at Turn 6 meant that the FIA were unable to see several drivers taking liberties with cutting the inside kerb at that right-hander throughout the race, leading to perhaps fewer penalties than there should have been in Austin.

An FIA statement read: ‘During the post-race analysis, it was found that several drivers may have exceeded the track limit on the inside of Turn 6.

‘In line with the stewards’ decisions (Document 59) in relation to an alleged rule breach on the inside of the corner, which stated that ‘the evidence available is insufficient to accurately and consistently infer infringements’, the FIA will update the monitoring infrastructure to ensure better coverage so that possible infringements can be reliably detected during the race in the future.’

Read more: FIA under further scrutiny as new US Grand Prix footage comes to light

Red Bull will have to fork out huge fee to enter F1 in 2024

The entry fees for Formula 1 teams to put themselves back onto the grid in 2024 have been announced, with a 6.5% increase on their 2023 rates set to hit Red Bull hardest.

The flat entry fee for all teams has risen by around $40,000 to $657,837, but this merely the minimum every team has to pay to enter F1, as the teams have to pay an extra amount per point they score the previous year.

That rate has now gone up to $6,575 per point for nine of the 10 teams, but the World Champions, Red Bull, will have to pay $7,893 per point as the champion team come season’s end – and given their points total, that’ll be quite a fairly big bill, to say the least.

Read more: Huge F1 2024 entry fees revealed with Red Bull pockets hit hardest