Fernando Alonso and George Russell were among those to complain about the FIA’s inaction against drivers cutting corners in Formula 1‘s Mexico City Grand Prix.
At the start, five drivers skipped the first turns, making up places, including Charles Leclerc, who momentarily took the lead at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.
Leclerc gave back the spot to Lando Norris but held onto second over his Ferrari team-mate Lewis Hamilton, while Max Verstappen also demoted Russell.
Meanwhile, Alonso had made a good start off the line, but noted that around him were drivers cutting corners and making up places without repercussions.
“We made up some places, we were aggressive in Turn 1, and everything was looking good,” he said.
“But I think a couple of cars went just straight in Turn 2 and 3, and then they rejoined like three or four cars in front of me. So it’s a little bit unfair, I would say.
“It’s the second time in a row that on the first lap in the first corner, the FIA is looking to the other side. So, lesson learned.”
The Spaniard immediately informed his race engineer, but no action was taken, and not long after, he retired from the race.
“I had a good start, in front of [Carlos] Sainz and some other people, they missed [Turn] 2 and they are three cars in front,” he recalled.
“It’s very unfair I’m in this position after making the corners, so let’s do something,” he added. “I think it’s three or four cars.”
“We have seen it, we are feeding it back,” Andrew Vizard, his race engineer, told him. “But we know that they don’t understand the consequence.”
Russell ‘pretty pissed off’ at missed punishments
Russell echoed Alonso’s sentiment, citing that the grass that has been present since the circuit returned to the calendar in 2015 encourages “lawnmower racing”.
“I think I just struggle to understand how three guys can just cut corners and maintain their position,” he told media including Motorsport Week.
“They got it wrong, they brake too late, they made a mistake. But then they can just cut the corner and continue, and there was no punishment for their mistake.
“So I was pretty pissed off with that to start with. And then Max went off the track, turn four, came back on.
“It was wrong place, wrong time for me. But again, that should have been penalised as well. So, yeah.
“I think it holds me down to the circuit. You know, if there is this get-out-of-jail-free card… If there were gravel, no one would be there.
“We’ve seen it almost every year we’ve been here. I think it was Carlos last year, Charles the year before, Lewis 10 years ago. It’s like a lawnmower racing.”
The Mercedes driver, who dropped to a disappointing seventh in the end, went on to call for change and urged penalties to discourage drivers from corner-cutting.
“Something needs to change there. Because, as I said, if you can just send it down the outside, you can either make it stick, or you just cut the grass, and you return to the position you were in before. That’s not really how it should be,” he asserted.
“Leclerc just made no attempt to stay on the track. Verstappen, obviously, just full risk, and got it wrong but continued in his place.
“The guys who did the right thing were the ones who came off worst.”
READ MORE – Ferrari blasts F1 stewarding inconsistency after Lewis Hamilton’s Mexico GP penalty
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