October 23rd 2023.
Lewis Hamilton has been dealt a huge blow after being stripped of his second-place finish at the US Grand Prix. The British driver suffered a post-race disqualification after a check found that the skid blocks underneath his Mercedes had worn too thin, contravening F1’s technical regulations.
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, who finished in sixth place, was also disqualified after his car failed a post-race inspection. This wooden skid block is located under the car and is used to ensure teams follow the rules of how close the vehicle can run to the ground in search of better speed. If the skid block is found to have been reduced by more than one millimeter during an inspection, the car and driver are disqualified from the race.
The high wear on the skids was attributed to the unique combination of the bumpy track and the Sprint race schedule that minimized the time to set up and check the car before the race. However, the stewards insisted to both teams that ‘the onus is on the competitor to ensure that the car is in compliance with the regulations at all times during an event.’
The disqualifications meant McLaren’s Lando Norris, who had finished third, was promoted to second place, while Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz moved up into third spot. When asked about the disqualification, Lewis 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.’
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff also accepted the decision and said they would not appeal it. He added, ‘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.’
The updated US Grand Prix result is as follows:
1) Max Verstappen
2) Lando Norris
3) Carlos Sainz
4) Sergio Perez
5) George Russell
6) Pierre Gasly
7) Lance Stroll
8) Yuki Tsunoda
9) Alex Albon
10) Logan Sargeant
[This article has been trending online recently and has been generated with AI. Your feed is customized.]
[Generative AI is experimental.]
