The FIA has warned the drivers not to repeat last year\u2019s corner-cutting shenanigans at the start of the Mexican Grand Prix, or they will be penalised.<\/p>\n
Last season McLaren driver Lando Norris lined up on pole position ahead of Charles Leclerc, Lewis Hamilton, George Russell and Max Verstappen.<\/p>\n
FIA warns F1 drivers they will be penalised for Mexican GP corner-cutting<\/p>\n
Although Norris made a good start off the line, the slipstream meant Leclerc, Hamilton and Verstappen were all together into Turn 1.<\/p>\n
While Leclerc went off the track and briefly gained a position to lead the race, he lifted off into Turn 4 to allow Norris back into the lead.<\/p>\n
Verstappen also went off the track before rejoining without any penalty.<\/p>\n
This year the FIA\u2019s stewards have warned the drivers that they won\u2019t be lenient towards Lap 1 incidents; they will be penalised.<\/p>\n
\u201cApplicable for this event, on lap one and the first lap after any resumption [after a safety car or red flag], in Turns 1 to 3, and Turns 4 to 6, all cars will, by default, be considered as both attacking and defending,\u201d they wrote.<\/p>\n
\u201cThus, in line with existing guidelines, any car leaving the track in these areas and maintaining a position to a car or cars within close proximity behind (as determined by the stewards) may be considered as gaining a lasting advantage, unless such position is yielded by Turn 4 [in the case of a car leaving the track in the area of Turns 1 to 3], or by Turn 12 [in the case of a car leaving the track in the area of Turns 4 to 6].\u201d<\/p>\n
Whether the new rules helps or hampers pole-sitter Lewis Hamilton<\/a> remains to be seen<\/p>\n The run to the first corner at the Aut\u00f3dromo Hermanos Rodr\u00edguez is the longest of the calendar, so Hamilton will face a tough challenge from those behind him using his slipstream to gain a pace advantage.<\/p>\n The Briton, who is starting from pole position for the first time as a Ferrari driver in a Grand Prix, is already thinking about his tactics.<\/p>\n \u201cI think, yeah, just always looking,\u201d he said after Saturday\u2019s qualifying. \u201cYou look at the race starts of the previous years, and obviously we need to make sure that we get a good start, a good jump off the line, and then it\u2019s just car positioning, braking point. <\/p>\n \u201cBut again, I\u2019ve not been in that position here before, so I\u2019m always coming from further back. So I\u2019ll just focus on trying to optimise the start.\u201d<\/p>\n More from qualifying for the Mexican GP<\/p>\n How Lewis Hamilton\u2019s perfect lap beat Russell to pole despite no fastest sectors<\/a><\/p>\n