The FIA has warned the drivers not to repeat last year’s corner-cutting shenanigans at the start of the Mexican Grand Prix, or they will be penalised.

Last season McLaren driver Lando Norris lined up on pole position ahead of Charles Leclerc, Lewis Hamilton, George Russell and Max Verstappen.

FIA warns F1 drivers they will be penalised for Mexican GP corner-cutting

Although Norris made a good start off the line, the slipstream meant Leclerc, Hamilton and Verstappen were all together into Turn 1.

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.

Verstappen also went off the track before rejoining without any penalty.

This year the FIA’s stewards have warned the drivers that they won’t be lenient towards Lap 1 incidents; they will be penalised.

“Applicable 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,” they wrote.

“Thus, 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].”

Whether the new rules helps or hampers pole-sitter Lewis Hamilton remains to be seen

The run to the first corner at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez 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.

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.

“I think, yeah, just always looking,” he said after Saturday’s qualifying. “You 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’s just car positioning, braking point.

“But again, I’ve not been in that position here before, so I’m always coming from further back. So I’ll just focus on trying to optimise the start.”

More from qualifying for the Mexican GP

His teammate Leclerc, who is third on the grid, will be looking to take advantage of the situation.

“Yes, I mean, I’ll keep my head down as much as possible and see what’s possible,” he said. “But, yes, it’s always an exciting Turn 1 there, and we’ll see how it goes.”

The Monegasque driver says getting a good start and making up positions into Turn 1 will be key, as he doesn’t believe there will be a lot of overtaking during Sunday’s Grand Prix.

“I think the pace is good,” said Leclerc. “I think the car feels good and felt good since FP1. So I think on that we’ve got the race pace.

“I doubt there will be any overtakes. I’ve tried more in FP2, and it’s just very difficult because the overtake mode doesn’t do much.

“So, I think whatever is the standing after Turn 3, it’s going to be very difficult then to overtake. So, it’s a bit of a shame that I didn’t do the job eventually when it mattered.”