US GP: Why was Lewis Hamilton disqualified from second place?
Lewis Hamilton has been disqualified from the United States Grand Prix for technical reasons. Ferrari's Charles Leclerc also faced the same fate. The Mercedes driver finished just behind Max Verstappen in second position. But following the race in Austin, the cars were checked and irregularities were spotted by the FIA Technical team. Their car planks were excessively worn down, leading to their disqualification.
Why was Hamilton disqualified?
Both drivers breached Article 3.5.9 e) of the FIA Formula One Technical Regulations which includes a tolerance for wear. The article states the required thickness of the plank is 10mm. They even accept a minimum thickness of 9mm due to wear. Both teams acknowledged the introspection and reasoned the bumpy track and the tight turnaround time between the Sprint Race and the Feature Race.
Toto Wolff admitted that they got it wrong
Mercedes boss Toto Wolff shared how it is a challenge for the team to set up everything in such a short turnaround time. "Turning to the race result and the disqualification, 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."
Albeit disappointed, Hamilton is happy with the progress
Hamilton lost crucial points with this disqualification but he is happy with the progress that Mercedes have made this week. He 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."
Verstappen won the United States Grand Prix
Verstappen kept Hamilton and Lando Norris at bay to win the US Grand Prix. He was sixth on the grid but he powered his way through to the chequered flag. He made a great recovery, overtaking a lot of cars in between before keeping calm in the final few laps. This was his 50th race win and his 15th in the ongoing season.
Norris moved up to second, Sainz secures podium finish
Mclaren's Norris, who finished third in the race has been promoted to second place while Ferrari's Carlos Sainz moved up to third spot, securing another podium finish. Sergio Perez climbed up to fourth spot as the Mexican extended his lead over Hamilton for the second position in the Driver's Championships. George Russell went from seventh to fifth while Pierre Gasly moved to sixth spot.
A look at the Driver's Championship
With 15 race wins in the ongoing season, Verstappen has already secured the Driver's Championship title. He has tallied 466 points. Followed by his Red Bull Racing teammate Perez, who has secured 240 points. This disqualification was a blow for Hamilton as he remains with 201 points in third position. These three are the only drivers with 200-plus points this season.
