Lewis Hamilton claims 'from several different sources' that other cars were also illegal at the 2023 F1 US GP

Lewis Hamilton claims that he'd received information from several different sources that there were other cars that were also illegal at the 2023 F1 US GP. The driver had a brilliant race in Austin, where he took the chequered flag in P2.

For most of the race, he was in contention for the win as well, but in post-race scrutineering, it was found that the plank wear on his car was beyond the permissible limit.

Since then, there have been multiple revelations on post-race scrutineering, with a major revelation that the checks are done randomly and only for a few cars.

Even in Austin, Lewis Hamilton's Mercedes was one of the four cars that were checked out, of which two were disqualified. Questions have since been raised about the modus operandi when it comes to post-race scrutineering, where only a few cars are checked.

Talking about the DSQ in Austin, Lewis Hamilton has claimed that he'd heard from several different sources that other cars were also illegal but got away with it.

He told Sky Sports:

"Firstly, 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 16 years."

He added:

"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."

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"Far more cars that were illegal": Lewis Hamilton

Lewis Hamilton further talked about how the way the cars handle the bumps is what could have contributed to the plank wear.

The driver talked about how Red Bull tends to ride the bumps well, while Mercedes and Ferrari tend to struggle a bit.

He said:

"Basically that was the first time we'd had a Sprint race there [in Austin] and they had only tested a few cars and 50 percent of them got disqualified. There are far more driver's cars that were illegal [but weren't checked]. The skid is not a performance element."

He added:

"Of course, if you have a flat surface everyone is going to be pushing their car to be as low as possible. But it's mostly some cars handle the bumps better than others and you know we have had a very stiff and bumpy car for the last two years. But ultimately it failed the regulation and that needs to change."

The debate is an interesting one, and while the FIA has made it clear that there are certain constraints within which it works, there could be a review of the process as well.