Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes was found to have a worn-out plank during the United States Grand Prix. He finished second behind Max Verstappen, while Charles Leclerc was also disqualified from sixth place for the same reason.
Lewis Hamilton was disqualified from his second-place finish at the United States Grand Prix because his Mercedes car did not pass a physical inspection after the race.
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc was guilty of the same offense and disqualified from his sixth-place finish.
The skids on the bottom of their cars had become too worn out and no longer met the regulations for Formula 1.
McLaren’s Lando Norris moved up to second place after Hamilton was disqualified. Max Verstappen won the race, and Carlos Sainz from Ferrari finished on the podium.
“Set-up choices on a sprint weekend are always a challenge with just one hour of free practice – and even more so at a bumpy circuit like COTA and running a new package,” said Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff.
“In the end, all of that doesn’t matter; others got it right where we got it wrong and there’s no wiggle room in the rules. We need to take it on the chin, do the learning, and come back stronger next weekend.”
In Mercedes’ post-race press release, Hamilton said: “It is of course disappointing to be disqualified post-race but that doesn’t take away from the progress we’ve made this weekend.”
Meanwhile, Williams Logan Sargeant scores his first point of his rookie F1 season after being promoted to 10th place. Both drivers from his team also scored points, with Alex Albon moving up to ninth place.
An FIA statement confirmed that Mercedes and Ferrari admitted their breach was likely due to the bumpy track and the Sprint race schedule. These factors limited the time available to set up and check the car before the race.
The statement added: “The Stewards note that the onus is on the competitor to ensure that the car is in compliance with the regulations at all times during an event.”
Both teams can appeal the ruling, but their official social media posts seemed to imply that they accepted the decisions.
Hamilton was frustrated after narrowly missing out on his first victory in nearly two years. However, his win was ultimately taken away by the world champion, Max Verstappen.
The disqualification is a big setback for Hamilton’s chances of catching up to Verstappen’s team-mate, Sergio Perez, who is currently in second place in the drivers’ standings.
The Mexican driver moved up from fifth to fourth place in the championship. Instead of being only 19 points ahead of Hamilton, he now has a 39-point lead going into the final four rounds of the season.
Updated United States GP result
1) Max Verstappen, Red Bull
2) Lando Norris, McLaren
3) Carlos Sainz, Ferrari
4) Sergio Perez, Red Bull
5) George Russell, Mercedes
6) Pierre Gasly, Alpine
7) Lance Stroll, Aston Martin
8) Yuki Tsunoda, AlphaTauri
9) Alex Albon, Williams
10) Logan Sargeant, Williams
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