Martin Brundle Demands FIA Change After 'Hopeless' Hamilton and Leclerc Incident
Martin Brundle has called on the FIA to make a major change after a controversial incident involving Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc at the Mexican Grand Prix.
Sunday's race in Mexico City was chaotic from the opening lap, with multiple drivers running wide through the opening corners.
Into turn one, Lando Norris, Leclerc, Hamilton and Max Verstappen all went wheel to wheel.
Verstappen locked up and took to the escape road, while Leclerc then cut the second corner to re-join the track.
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The Dutchman let both Ferraris past him, while Leclerc allowed Norris past - but not Hamilton, despite re-joining ahead of his teammate.
On The F1 Show on Sky Sports, Brundle and Jacques Villeneuve discussed how to avoid similar incidents through the opening corners in future.
Villeneuve said: "If you have gravel there or a wall, you wouldn't be four-wide.
"You'd be two-wide maybe and everyone else would back off because they would know there is not an escape road.
"Now they think, 'oh, it doesn't matter, if I just brake way too late, I might be ahead, I'll come out ahead, maybe I'll let them by or not - nothing lost, it's worth the risk'.
"That's why we have these crazy first corners on that track, that is an issue we will have every year. Just drivers dive-bombing on the outside knowing they can just go straight."
Brundle agreed that the layout of the track is problematic.
"The geography out there [off track at T1] is just hopeless," said the former F1 driver.
"It needs zones, it needs a place you've got to pass through.
"Maybe even a zone where you have to proceed at pit-lane speed limit for 100 metres or 50 metres or something to really make it almost as big a deterrent as a barrier in Monaco, and then they won't go out there. It's as simple as that."
Should Charles Leclerc have received a penalty?
Leclerc avoided a penalty for the incident and went on to finish second, holding off a late charge from Verstappen thanks to a last lap Virtual Safety Car.
However, his teammate Hamilton received a 10-second penalty for gaining an advantage by cutting a corner during a battle with Verstappen on the sixth lap.
The Briton later described his 10-second penalty as "just nuts", while George Russell expressed shock that he was the only driver penalised in Mexico.
Speaking on F1TV, former British racing driver Jolyon Palmer also expressed shock at Leclerc avoiding punishment.
He said: "He's got space to stay on the track, should he wish to stay on the track.
"But he has also chosen to go wide at this point, realises that you can, he's done it before at the first corner, and gets away with it.
"It should be a penalty, it should be a slam dunk. The reality is, Charles Leclerc overtook Lewis Hamilton off the track and he should have had a penalty."
Topics: Formula 1, Lewis Hamilton, Charles Leclerc, FIA
James Taylor