At the end of the United States GP on Sunday in Austin, four cars were subjected to a complete inspection by the FIA commissioners. Which raises the question about the choice of pilots “selected” to be screened. Why did you only control the cars of Max Verstappen (1st), Lewis Hamilton (2nd), Lando Norris (3rd) and Charles Leclerc (6th). Why not have checked the conformity of those of Carlos Sainz (4th) and Sergio Perez (5th) to name only the order of the classification? And drivers behind the top 6?
On arrival, two of the four F1 cars checked were disqualified. A 50% assessment which questions the overall result of the investigations if the seventeen classified pilots had had their flat bottom checked. Lewis Hamilton in any case loses the benefit of his 2nd place and the 18 points that go with it and Charles Leclerc the 8 points of 6th place.
“Objective” parameters
Technical controls are at the discretion of the FIA sporting authorities. In this case, placed under the responsibility of Jo Bauer, the technical delegate of the international body. And the controls are not identical from one GP to another. If, in Japan, no single-seater had been checked to check its flat bottom, three single-seaters had been in Qatar, without the slightest irregularity being notified.
To designate the so-called “suspect” cars, the FIA technical commissioners, as always, relied on several so-called “objective” parameters. Upon arrival, they were able to note questionable wear on a titanium plate which then emits a persistent odor when rubbed. Indication of abnormal wear. Furthermore, Jo Bauer and his team had access to the on-board images and were thus able to see during the GP if a driver was severely shaken at the wheel of the car. Which would suggest excessive tailgating. These famous vertical oscillations called porpoising time.
Another element taken into account, the images of the race itself, in order to monitor the excessive friction observed on certain cars, especially in Austin with a bumpy track and abrasive asphalt. Which suggests a ride height that is too low and therefore a potential violation of the regulations on flat bottoms and therefore excessive wear.
A gray area
If Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc were caught by the patrol, this in no way means that they tried to cheat but that, with only one free practice session on Friday, due to the sprint race on Saturday, the engineers of the two drivers failed to properly adjust their car.
The fact remains that by choosing to control certain cars and not others, we leave doubt about the conformity of the other cars at the finish. Thirteen of the seventeen cars at the start therefore passed inspections. A process that the FIA refuses to modify, due to lack of time and space to scrutinize the twenty single-seaters. Which will always leave a gray area when validating a final result.
