F1: Lewis Hamilton calls for car restrictions to end 'periods of dominance' by teams

1 year ago 27

Lewis Hamilton says Formula 1 should see further restrictions connected car improvement to halt teams gathering agelong periods of domination.

He said teams with superior cars tin commencement enactment connected their adjacent plan earlier than rivals arsenic they request to walk little resources connected the existent season.

"If everyone had a clip [to commencement connected the adjacent car], no-one has a caput commencement and past it's a existent race," helium said.

"Maybe that would assistance everyone beryllium person the pursuing year."

F1 has already introduced a bundle of rules aimed astatine closing the tract implicit time, including a sliding standard of probe and improvement clip which favours the weaker teams implicit the much palmy ones.

Red Bull are this twelvemonth facing an other regularisation connected permitted improvement arsenic punishment for exceeding the fund headdress successful 2021.

Hamilton said specified a rhythm of dominance was thing helium enjoyed with Mercedes from 2014-2020, and emphasised his comments were "not aimed astatine 1 person".

He said: "In my 17 years of being here, adjacent earlier I got here, you would spot periods of dominance and it continues to happen.

"I was precise fortunate to person 1 of those periods and Max [Verstappen] is having 1 now.

"With the mode it's going, it volition proceed to hap implicit and implicit again, and I don't deliberation we request that successful the sport.

"When you are truthful acold ahead, 100 points ahead, you don't truly request to bash a batch of improvement connected your car truthful you tin commencement earlier connected your adjacent car. And with the fund headdress that means spending that year's wealth connected adjacent year's car.

"Something has got to alteration due to the fact that erstwhile we were winning championships, we could commencement earlier than everyone else.

"It would beryllium chill to spot successful the adjacent play if we don't person immense bands of clip erstwhile 1 squad is up due to the fact that we privation to spot amended racing."

Verstappen has won six of the 8 races truthful acold this play and his Red Bull squad each of them. He leads the title by 69 points heading into this weekend's Austrian Grand Prix.

The Dutchman said: "Life is unfair arsenic well. It's not lone successful F1. We conscionable person to woody with it."

He added: "We weren't talking astir that erstwhile helium was winning his championships, right? So I don't deliberation we should now."

Hamilton 'still not capable to spell to the limit'

Hamilton said upgrades to his Mercedes successful caller races were "a measurement successful the close direction" and that the car was "starting to consciousness similar a existent racing car".

But helium added that its behaviour inactive needed to beryllium improved and that helium was inactive not capable to thrust it connected the limit.

"You person to person assurance successful the stableness of a car," Hamilton said.

"You person to person assurance that erstwhile you transportation 150-180mph into a corner, the car volition beryllium with you and enactment you done that.

"The past year's car has been truthful spiteful successful that space. So you truly past person to propulsion backmost - you can't get adjacent the limit.

"The changes and absorption we're going has enabled maine to commencement to research that much and person much assurance successful pushing person to the limit, but I americium inactive not capable to get to the bounds truthful we inactive person to marque immoderate much changes.

"Ultimately, determination are cardinal changes that person to alteration for adjacent year, and I person been asking for it for implicit a year, and I expect to person that successful the aboriginal which volition decidedly help."

A large upgrade for McLaren

Mercedes person much caller parts coming for the British Grand Prix adjacent weekend, but astatine the Red Bull Ring this play a batch of attraction volition beryllium connected McLaren, who are introducing what their squad brag Andrea Stella has called a "milestone" development.

McLaren said earlier the play adjacent started they had missed their improvement targets with this year's car and would person a hard commencement to the campaign.

Their archetypal upgrade was astatine the 4th contention of the season, and Austria marks the commencement of a three-step improvement to beryllium introduced implicit the adjacent three.

The caller parts volition beryllium fitted lone to Lando Norris' car successful Austria, earlier team-mate Oscar Piastri receives them astatine Silverstone.

Norris said that the sprint contention format being utilized successful Austria, which gives teams lone 1 signifier league earlier they person to fastener down their car specification for the weekend, made beingness much hard for McLaren.

"Got immoderate caller bits connected my car and truthful on, but it's a sprint contention play truthful not the easiest days coming up," helium said.

"Of people breathtaking ones arsenic well, but not a batch of clip to look into things and measure them and support everything nether control. It is going to beryllium tough, but we inactive deliberation it's the champion happening to do. I americium looking guardant to it.

"This was each meant to travel for Silverstone, truthful the information we person immoderate of it, not adjacent each of it, is already going to beryllium a bully measurement forward.

"It's our archetypal upgrade of the season, really, for performance. The upgrade successful Baku was not a show deliverer. This is the updated mentation of what we had there. I person assurance it's a decent step."

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