Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes car was subject to extensive checks by Formula 1’s governing body the FIA, documents have revealed. The check came following the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix last month, where the Englishman staggered to a frustrating 10th-place finish.
Every car goes through a post-race spot check, however prior to the 2021 season the FIA announced that a random selection check would be introduced. Last time out it was Hamilton’s W13 that was called in.
The ruling states that any car that finishes in the top 10 of a race can be called in, and is then subject to much more extensive scrutiny outside of the usual post-race check up. In documents released by the FIA, it was confirmed his front inboard suspension was thoroughly looked at.
The document read: “After the race, car number 44 [Hamilton] was randomly chosen among the top 10 cars for more extensive physical inspections. Subject to these physical inspections were all front inboard suspension components.”
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However things haven’t exactly gone to plan for Hamilton and his team, with the seven-time world champion seemingly struggling to adapt to his new Mercedes car. New regulations were brought in ahead of 2022 to ensure races in the new campaign were much closer and more competitive following Hamilton and Verstappen’s recent domination.
These changes however seem to have hampered Hamilton’s start to the new season, after securing a fortunate third place finish in Bahrain alongside his 10th place in Saudi. Hamilton will no doubt be looking to get himself back to winning this weekend, when he and the rest of the F1 circuit head down under for the Australian Grand Prix.
