'Grey areas' - Lewis Hamilton demands F1 rule changes after furious Max Verstappen claim

Lewis Hamilton led calls for rule changes as he claimed has been "getting away" with using "grey areas" within the regulations.

The seven-time champion is one of several top racers advocating for changes in the wake of last weekend. The driver was given a five-second penalty for overtaking his title rival by going off track.

but many felt Verstappen should also have been penalised for pushing Norris off the circuit. , which meant he lost ground to Verstappen in his title chase. And fellow Brits and are among the drivers calling for clearer rules of engagement on track.

The 39-year-old said: "It has always been a grey area - that is why [Verstappen] has got away with it for so long. You do have inconsistencies on rulings, weekend in, weekend out, obviously depending on which stewards are there. As a sport, we do need to level up in all areas.

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You look at other global sports, they have full-time refs, and I am sure that would not be a bad thing for our sport. I experienced it many times with Max. You should not be able to just launch the car up the inside and be ahead and then go off, and still hold the position."

Grand Prix Drivers' Association director Russell was penalised for pushing off at the same corner earlier in the Texas race. He was shocked to learn that Verstappen had avoided punishment for a similar incident and thinks a change will be needed if back the stewards' decision.

Russell said: "I am really interested to see if the FIA believe, having reviewed everything again, if Max should have been penalised for what he did or not. In my view, he should have been penalised. Therefore, there is not really a loophole. If they say, 'Based on our regulations, he should not have been penalised', then he is exploring [sic] a loophole."

Verstappen insisted, though, that he was not looking for a "shortcut" to beat and warned against "overregulating" the sport. He said: "If we take rules away and then there is, again, an incident, like, 'Ah we need more rules. We need to be stronger on this'. In the past we had maybe less [sic] rules and then you have the same argument, 'We need to be strong on this'. It is always the same story."

Meanwhile, Norris admitted that he needs to "adapt" the way he drives if he is to get the better of Verstappen on track. The McLaren star said: "Max did not care if he won or was second or third. His only job was to beat me and he did that. He did a good job from his side. He ended up on top and I need to be beating him so some little things that I need to change.

"I have not spoken to Max at all. He did what he thought was right and I did what I thought was right. As a team we still disagree and I think the majority of people who were watching disagreed with the penalty that I got. I will make the changes that I need to make, whether it is being more aggressive at times or less aggressive, I will do what I think is right."