Martin Brundle demands F1 fixes ‘lottery’ after Lewis Hamilton disqualification from US GP

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Martin Brundle demands Formula 1 issues urgent changes to fix the Sprint format after Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc were disqualified hours after the United States GP.

Post-race scrutineering following the Grand Prix found excessive wear on the underfloor skid blocks of Hamilton’s Mercedes and Leclerc’s Ferrari. Hamilton had run Max Verstappen close for the win at the Circuit of the Americas. Leclerc came home in P6 after a one-stop strategy.

Just two seconds ultimately split Hamilton from Verstappen after reeling in the Red Bull pilot during the closing laps. It would have marked the 38-year-old’s third runners-up finish so far this year. His disqualification moved McLaren’s Lando Norris into P2 at his 100th Grand Prix.

Why were Hamilton and Leclerc disqualified from the United States GP?

Hamilton and Leclerc both fell victim to the same rule breach to spark their disqualifications from the United States GP. Formula 1’s rules necessitate a skid block to stop the teams from running their cars too low to the ground. Running cars lower may offer an aerodynamic gain.

Teams generally set their floor level after assessing the data after the three practice sessions over the Grand Prix weekend. But the Sprint format provides just one practice session to set the cars up before entering Parc Fermé conditions. The cars are then fixed for the weekend.

Brundle demands Formula 1 fixes the ‘not ideal’ current Sprint format

Aston Martin and Haas broke both of their respective cars out of Parc Fermé to change their set-ups for the United States GP. They felt that starting from the pit lane with a modified car would yield better results. Lance Stroll ultimately got the best of their results at COTA in P7.

But Brundle believes Aston Martin and Haas breaking Parc Fermé proves one issue with the current Sprint format. The later disqualifications of Hamilton and Leclerc also prove another issue with the format as it makes Sprint weekends a ‘lottery’ that F1 must move to prevent.

“There’s no doubt that the Sprint format events put the teams under a lot of pressure,” said Brundle to Sky Sports F1. “We don’t get particularly positive feedback from them. With just one practice session before the specification and set-up is locked in by Parc Fermé rules, this leaves them underprepared, which is far from ideal with such complex cars.

“Do we want the jeopardy and variability of some teams missing their ultimate pace? Or is this wasting the resources and skills of teams and drivers in a ‘not very F1’ manner? We had 20% of the field starting the main Sunday race from the pit lane because they were better breaking out of Parc Fermé and trying for a more competitive race set-up.

“This is not ideal or necessary. And while I don’t like us to keep messing with the format, we must make some changes for next season and beyond. It’s too much of a lottery, which has far-reaching consequences as we would find out several hours after the Sunday GP.”