Daniel Ricciardo has called for action to prevent a repeat of the shortcutting controversies seen at the Mexican GP.
Two significant incidents took place in the first sequence of corners at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, as Lewis Hamilton ran across the grass at Turn 1 at the start before Max Verstappen did the same thing while battling Sebastian Vettel towards the end.
On both occasions, the drivers rejoined at Turn 3, missing out the chicane that proceeds the first right-hander, however, while Hamilton’s escape went uninvestigated, Verstappen was given a five-second time penalty for gaining an advantage.
It is a common complaint we see at circuits around the world, whether it be the Nouvelle chicane in Monaco or the various sequences at Monza and the FIA are usually much stricter in regards to shortcutting a corner than they are about the equally contentious issue of track limits.
Numerous venues have installed speed bumps or place bollards for drivers to go around if they lock up and run wide at corners where they could actually gain time, however, in Mexico, an area of grass was the only ‘deterrent’ on the outside of the corner.
Not even those solutions go far enough for Ricciardo, who would like to see more gravel traps created to penalise drivers.
“I am a bit of a fan of gravel traps,” he told Crash.net. “It is a proper deterrent because even if you get through the gravel trap at some speed and don’t lose a whole lot of time, you still have stuff in your radiators, so here is more of a penalty.
“I don’t like that a driver can defend lock ups, or make a mistake whilst defending, cut through and continue.”
Indeed, the Australian was the only driver to back an extreme idea from Bernie Ecclestone calling for 40cm ‘walls’ to be added at corners where track limits are abused.
While his team boss Christian Horner described Ecclestone’s concept as ‘one end of the spectrum’ he backed his driver’s call for the return of gravel.
“I definitely think there’s an argument for a gravel trap because if you end up in the gravel you either lose an enormous amount of time or you’re out of the race.
“It’s something that should be looked at for corners such as Turn 1 to see if gravel is a better deterrent than large tarmac run-off areas,” he added.
Twitter: RT SkySportsF1: After a lock up Hamilton goes across the grass at the start LIVE: https://t.co/6B1mM03fh4 #SkyF1 … https://t.co/Wytj1joq1q (@GhatiyaDriver)
Both were also united in their view that it was unfair Hamilton’s foray across the grass at the start went unpunished.
“It remains too open to interpretation because why was Max’s move any different to Lewis at the chicane in Monte Carlo or Lewis on lap one here?” Horner claimed.
“You’re leaving it constantly up to stewards interpretation on individual events. If there’s a gravel trap there they pay the price, it’s as simple as that.”
Ricciardo added: “In the first corner with Lewis, I didn’t think that was right.
“You make a mistake and the start of the race is a crucial moment and a mistake with so many cars around, you should pay the price.”
