1992 Formula 1 world champion Nigel Mansell has hit out at the minimum weight limit for the 2014 season.
Despite the total weight limit rising to 690kg next season - an increase of 48kg - there are concerns over the new V6 Turbo engines weighing higher than expected, meaning heavier drivers could be at a disadvantage.
Drivers and team principals - including Nico Hulkenberg and Martin Whitmarsh - have raised concerns over the weight limit. Heavier drivers could lose out on race seats due to the heavier engines.
Mansell feels that this is "disgraceful" and unfair. He told the BBC: "It’s wrong. They are not jockeys. It’s disgraceful, it’s discrimination against the medium-sized large driver."
Hulkenberg is thought to be one of the drivers threatened by the weight limit. The German driver weighs 74kg and is one of the tallest drivers on the 2013 grid. It is rumoured that he even lost a drive at McLaren due to his weight. Mansell believes this should never be a consideration for teams.
"In years gone by, we didn’t have traction control or power steering – you had to be a strong driver and there were a lot of strong drivers," he said. "If you had this weight limit, they wouldn’t have been able to drive cars many years ago – or they would have driven with great difficulty. So I think get the weight limit up a bit, make some cars carry some ballast so that the bigger drivers don’t suffer as much."
2009 world champion Jenson Button also admitted earlier in the month that it was an issue: "It is a big problem, and next year we don't know how bad it's going to be, but it's going to be very tricky."
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Drivers and team principals - including Nico Hulkenberg and Martin Whitmarsh - have raised concerns over the weight limit. Heavier drivers could lose out on race seats due to the heavier engines.
Mansell feels that this is "disgraceful" and unfair. He told the BBC: "It’s wrong. They are not jockeys. It’s disgraceful, it’s discrimination against the medium-sized large driver."
Hulkenberg is thought to be one of the drivers threatened by the weight limit. The German driver weighs 74kg and is one of the tallest drivers on the 2013 grid. It is rumoured that he even lost a drive at McLaren due to his weight. Mansell believes this should never be a consideration for teams.
"In years gone by, we didn’t have traction control or power steering – you had to be a strong driver and there were a lot of strong drivers," he said. "If you had this weight limit, they wouldn’t have been able to drive cars many years ago – or they would have driven with great difficulty. So I think get the weight limit up a bit, make some cars carry some ballast so that the bigger drivers don’t suffer as much."
2009 world champion Jenson Button also admitted earlier in the month that it was an issue: "It is a big problem, and next year we don't know how bad it's going to be, but it's going to be very tricky."
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