Max Verstappen has been at the center of media attention not only because of his achievements this season but also because of the supposed leniency shown to him by the F1 authorities. At the Singapore GP, the Dutchman avoided any penalties after his impeding offense during the qualifying session. The favoritism claims grew stronger after Sergio Perez received only a 5-second penalty after causing collisions in Suzuka, with experts believing it should have been much more. Given the same, Racing News 365 reports Lewis Hamilton has a futuristic solution to negate human error in these situations.
The suspicions of Red Bull favoritism stem not from 2023 but from the Abu Dhabi race in 2021. After a call where the safety car came back in at the worst possible time for Hamilton, fans started believing it was all a ruse to hand Verstappen a championship. While the debate rages on about the championship to this day, Hamilton believes AI can help make sure similar mistakes don’t happen again.
Lewis Hamilton calls for AI involvement in F1
Despite a trio of impending charges, Verstappen avoided any grid penalties and saw only a reprimand by the stewards in Singapore. One of the most closely monitored charges was Verstappen holding Tsunoda up between Turns 3 and 4, where, again, they took no action against Verstappen.
In light of the supposed bias being shown by the authorities, Racing News 365 quotes Hamilton as calling for AI intervention in the sport.
“I think we need to start looking into AI for this sort of thing, so we get good decisions. I would like to see whether AI could do a better job or not.”
Given there are no permanent stewards, the inclusion of AI could make for more consistent decisions throughout an F1 season. At present, varying personnel have to make up a panel at each race weekend because of commitment issues. Each panel consists of stewards, where the national sporting authority of the host country nominates one member.
FIA selects three members and appoints one of them as the panel’s chair. Another member of the panel is a former racing driver who takes into account a driver’s thoughts when deciding an appropriate penalty.
FIA confessed to letting Verstappen off the hook easily
Following the backlash after Verstappen did not receive any penalties for his actions in Singapore, the FIA accepted making a mistake. The move came after Norris and Leclerc headed a group of drivers who claimed Verstappen not receiving any penalties would set a bad precedent for the sport. According to the FIA, Verstappen should have received at least one three-place grid penalty, which would have seen him finish further below in the rankings.
The no-penalty call in Singapore even took Verstappen by surprise. The Dutchman claimed there should have been an action over him impeding Tsunoda. Explaining the incident involving him and Tsunoda, Verstappen admitted to not seeing the Japanese driver as he was busy talking on the radio about a problem with his car.
With all these incidents now in the past, Hamilton hopes for a better future for the sport. Should the technology make a positive impact, not only will it make racing more fair but also more enjoyable for the fans.
