hamilton-mexico
Photo: Race Pictures
F1 News

Hamilton blasts certain F1 tracks: 'Not something I love'

18:12, 02 Nov
0 Comments

Lewis Hamilton has stated that a race track that allows drivers to go wide or cut corners and rejoin the track is "not something I love".

"There are a lot of tracks, whilst we have maybe a fan base there, the track doesn't give us a lot, you're just following each other and qualifying is everything."
- Lewis Hamilton

The comments from the seven-time world champion came before the Mexico City Grand Prix, which saw four cars go side-by-side into Turn 1, resulting in Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc cutting the corner and taking to the grass, rejoining the track, and receiving no penalty.

Afterwards, George Russell branded the Grand Prix as a 'lawnmower race', and Fernando Alonso stated that 'lessons were learnt' after the FIA and race control handed out no penalties.

"It's a difficult one, because you can't ever say that you go too far in safety," Hamilton started by saying on Thursday in Mexico City.

race-start-mexico-jpg.
A chaotic race start at the Mexico City Grand Prix saw cars go across the grass and rejoin the track - Photo: RacePictures

"The tracks are different today than they were obviously back in the 90s and early 2000s, where the runoff areas were grass, and when you push beyond the limit, there was a price to pay in the sense that you end up in the gravel, or you damage the car.

"Today, you can run wide and come back on. That's not something I love, but it is the way it is. There's nothing I can say that's going to change that. But it's great having old circuits like this that have real character.

"I always describe it like an old house. Generally, the new circuits don't have character, but Austin does, for example. That's a great track to drive on a single lap, but it's a great race circuit as well. But there are a lot of tracks, whilst we have maybe a fan base there, the track doesn't give us a lot, you're just following each other and qualifying is everything."

Hamilton speaks out on Singapore sprint race next season

In September, it was announced which six Grands Prix would become sprint race weekends for the 2026 season.

One of those weekends was the Singapore Grand Prix, leading to Hamilton having some reservations about that upcoming weekend next year.

"We've already got the sprint races, which I think are a positive. I've generally enjoyed those weekends. But there's probably some more we can work on in terms of making the races even more exciting," continued the 40-year-old.

hamilton-sf-25
Lewis Hamilton in action at the Mexico City Grand Prix, where he finished P8 - Photo: Race Pictures

"Some of those sprint races, for example, Singapore next year. 19 laps of Singapore, you won't see any overtaking probably. But there are other tracks that could bode well for something like that."

Along with Russell and Alonso, Hamilton was also critical of the decision-making made by the stewards at the Mexico City Grand Prix.

The Brit branded it 'pretty nuts' that only he was handed a time penalty across the 71-lap race for leaving the track and gaining an advantage after not using the escape road.

GPblog's latest F1 Paddock Update

Want to stay up-to-date with what happens in the F1 paddock? Then GPblog's F1 Paddock Update video is the perfect way to do it. Subscribe to GPblog's YouTube channel and turn on notifications to never miss the latest episodes.