FIA post race legality checks: no inspection of plank wear in Mexico City

FIA post race legality checks: no inspection of plank wear in Mexico City. No plank wear checks in Mexico despite Austin GP controversy.

Following the controversies that arose after the United States Grand Prix, where random FIA checks on plank wear revealed irregularities in 50% of the inspected cars, no technical inspection was carried out after the Mexican GP. It should be noted that checking the wear of the plank is not always part of the technical verification process. However, the alarm raised in Texas suggested that stricter checks by the governing body were expected in the recently concluded weekend.

The FIA decides not to perform checks on plank wear after the 2023 Formula 1 Mexican Grand Prix
“I heard from various sources that many other cars were illegal, but they weren’t tested, so they got away with it,” commented Hamilton on the eve of the Mexican weekend, fresh from the disqualification he received a few days earlier.

“I’ve been in F1 for 16 years. There have been many other scenarios like this, where some got away with it. Others were just unlucky to be tested. I think in the end, there needs to be a better structure to ensure things are fair and consistent.”

As mentioned earlier, the FIA reserves the right to carry out random checks based on any anomalies noted by the federation’s delegate, Jo Bauer, in the data during the race.

In Austin, vertical oscillations on the cars of Hamilton and Leclerc are said to have triggered the alarm. This prompted Bauer to investigate the matter further, also testing the cars of Lando Norris and Max Verstappen, with the latter two found to be in compliance with the regulations.

Unlike Austin, which is considered a medium-to-high downforce track with rough asphalt, the Hermanos Rodriguez circuit is classified as a low-downforce track, despite the teams opting for higher downforce setups due to the altitude of the Mexican circuit.

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This may explain why the federation decided not to conduct plank checks after the race. However, even in Qatar, which is considered a high-downforce track, checks in that specific area of the cars were not carried out.

“We haven’t passed the technical checks yet, so let’s not sing victory too soon,” said Toto Wolff ironically after the race. Unlike at the Circuit of the Ameriacs circuit, Lewis Hamilton was able to celebrate a second-place finish this time.