“Lando Should Be Up Here”: Lewis Hamilton Attacks F1 as ‘MotoGP Kerbs’ Devour McLaren

Formula 1 visited the Losail International Circuit for the first time in 2021. As excited as the grid was for the inaugural Qatar GP, the track wasn’t particularly kind to the cars or the drivers. Well, it was more the kerbs that were deadly. Considering their relatively easygoing nature—flat and smooth—they were made keeping in mind the MotoGP bike races that have happened at the circuit since it opened in 2004. While they may suit the bikes, F1 cars weren’t a fan of them in 2021. Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas fell prey to them back then. But now, two years later, they’ve helped Mercedes. Particularly Lewis Hamilton. 

If you remember the Austrian GP weekend, more than the on-track action, it was the track–limit violations that caught everyone’s eye. This year’s Qatar outing has been a lot like Austria, with its numerous deleted lap times. One driver who probably got his times deleted more often than the rest was Lando Norris, and they came at the most crucial of moments.

Qatar’s track limits didn’t please Lewis Hamilton

This season, the FIA introduced standardized track limits for all venues. If a car has all four wheels beyond the white line that demarcates the track, it would be counted as a track-limit violation. That standardization doesn’t necessarily work in Qatar, per Hamilton. After qualifying, he said, “I don’t feel like at this track we need to have track limits. It’s something that the new stewards brought in.”

Considering this is a Sprint weekend, teams got only one practice session before qualifying. While McLaren ran the hard and medium tires, it didn’t get a chance to try the softs. Whether it was the track or the soft tires during qualifying that caught the McLaren drivers off-guard, Norris and Oscar Piastri both got their final lap times deleted. Given their pace, they were contenders for P2 and P3. But following their violations, Norris dropped from P2 to P10, and Piastri went from P4 to P3 to P6. 

As a result of both McLaren drivers falling down the order, Hamilton—who qualified fifth—will start Sunday’s race in P3. He said, “Lando should be up here. Maybe we can take these kerbs to a bunch of other tracks. Obviously Moto GP is fine with these kerbs. We should be able to utilize as much as possible, but when you go beyond them, you lose time. It shouldn’t be the white line, necessarily. But anyways, it’s not for me to decide.” 

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If it were up to any F1 driver, they would choose a natural deterrent—which is basically the kind of kerbs they’re used to—instead of the flat ones made for MotoGP that Losail features. And if it were up to Norris, he would do anything to redo his final run in Q3.

It “wasn’t a good day” for Lando Norris

The FIA has a field day with track limits today. The team that lost out the most was McLaren. Last time out in Japan, the Woking squad did very well. Considering how it started the 2023 season, the team couldn’t have asked for anything better than a P2 and P3 behind Max Verstappen. Losail, with high-speed corners like Suzuka, should’ve suited McLaren, too. And it did. Right from the green light in FP1, both drivers looked speedy on track. But when it really mattered, they faltered.

Following multiple lap-time deletions after a messy qualifying, the Norris went from P2 to P10. Speaking after qualifying, he said, “I just had a correction on oversteer, and I went off. [The pace] has been good. The team has done a good job. I just messed it up.” When told he still has opportunities this weekend, Norris replied, “I know, but I don’t think like that, you know. I just think of the job I was meant to do today, which was put in good laps, don’t make mistakes. And that’s all I did today. So, not a good day for me.”

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Do you think exceeding track limits at the Losail Circuit is giving drivers an advantage? Or, like Lewis Hamilton said, is it actually making them lose time?