Max Verstappen supports Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes in plea for official F1 rule change

Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen — Photo: © LAT Images

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Verstappen supports Hamilton and Mercedes in plea for major F1 rule change

The F1 Red Bull champion has called for an official change to the rules

Matthew Hobkinson Lead Editor

F1 Editor & Journalist

Thursday 4 January 2024 19:57

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Red Bull star Max Verstappen has called for an official change to the rules regarding Formula 1 sprint race weekend formats after Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton was disqualified during last year's United States Grand Prix.

Both Hamilton and Ferrari's Charles Leclerc were disqualified from the race in Austin due to excessive wear on their skid blocks.

The sprint weekend format ensured that the teams could not touch their cars from Friday afternoon as they entered parc ferme conditions.

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Should Mercedes or Ferrari have made a change to Hamilton or Leclerc's car, the pair would have been forced to start from the pit-lane.

Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc were both disqualified from the US Grand Prix

Every Formula 1 car has a plank of wood that runs underneath it

And Verstappen believes that changes are needed in order to prevent teams from being punished for an unintentional mistake in the future.

Verstappen: F1 needs to make sprint race changes

"After the first practice, you're locked in," he told AMuS. "If you went even slightly the wrong way in FP1, you're stuck with that setup for the rest of the sprint weekend. That really sucks.

Max Verstappen, no stranger to sprint success, has called for changes to the format

"We've had some really good sprint weekends this year, but I wasn't completely satisfied. Take the ride height in Austin - Mercedes and Ferrari didn't set their cars too low on purpose.

"But once you take the wrong turn [in terms of setup], there is no turning back. At most, you can force something with the tire pressure.

"But if those prescribed values are already very high, then you've been seen. If you want to continue having sprints, you have to make changes in my opinion."