Marko advises FIA: 'For the future, I think things have to change'
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- Toby McLuskie
Helmut Marko advocates checking all cars that take points in a Grand Prix. The Red Bull Racing adviser understands that checking the cars is currently time-consuming, but for the sake of the sport, the 80-year-old Austrian says it is important that it is done properly (and more often).
In the US Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc were disqualified because their cars did not comply with the regulations: the board was too badly worn. That Hamilton and Leclerc were removed from the results and lost their scored World Cup points did not cause controversy. The whole process of checking did.
The FIA always does 'random' tests after the GP to check that regulations have not been violated. Hamilton and Leclerc were disqualified, but then again the cars of their teammates(George Russell and Carlos Sainz) were not checked. Even though a racing stable often sends its two drivers onto the track with the same ride height.
Marko gives his opinion
Max Verstappen already expressed his surprise that Russell and Sainz were not checked and Guenther Steiner even stated that, in his opinion, the FIA should always check all cars. Helmut Marko opts for the middle ground and would like to see the cars that finished in the top ten subjected to a test.
"First of all, I am very happy that Max's car was also checked after the race in America. Then at least there can be no ambiguity about that. But if you talk to people from the FIA, the whole problem is that these things are so complex," Marko told Motorsport.com. "Every car has to go up and is slightly different, so it's not like you just quickly go there and measure things. It takes time."
He continued: "But for the future, I do think something has to change to make sure the process can be faster. Then maybe we will be able to check all the cars. In any case, I believe that the first ten after a race should always be checked."