MEXICO CITY, Oct 26 (Reuters) - Lewis Hamilton claimed on Thursday that more cars than his Mercedes and Charles Leclerc's Ferrari were illegal at the U.S. Grand Prix in Austin and called for a fairer system of post-race checks. Both teams accepted their punishment and blamed the sprint format, with only one practice session, and particularly bumpy track. Only four of the 15 cars that finished the race were checked for such a breach, however. "I have heard from different sources that there were many cars that had not been tested and were also illegal," Hamilton told reporters ahead of this weekend's race in Mexico City. "It's unlikely two cars (from the same team) are that different, so if one car is illegal, there is a high chance that the other car is," said the Briton.

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Persons: Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, Charles Leclerc's Ferrari, Leclerc, George Russell, Ferrari's Carlos Sainz, Hamilton, Max Verstappen, McLaren's Lando Norris, Alan Baldwin, Christopher Cushing Organizations: MEXICO CITY, U.S, Prix, FIA, Thomson Locations: MEXICO, Austin, Mexico City, Dutch, London