F1: Hamilton and Leclerc Disqualified from USGP Results

Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc have both been disqualified from the United States Grand Prix. Following the race in Austin, their cars were inspected and irregularities were spotted by the FIA Technical team after a plank wear inspection was carried out.

The Delegate’s Report stated that: “The skids located in the area -825 ≥ XR ≥ – 1025 are found to be not in compliance with Article 3.5.9 e) of the 2023 Formula One Technical Regulations.”

As such, both were immediately referred to the stewards.

Hamilton had finished a brilliant second, harrying the triumphant Max Verstappen all the way to the line. He had been running a new floor at this event, Mercedes bringing their last major upgrade package of the year to Austin.

Leclerc crossed the line in sixth, fractions of a second ahead of the second Mercedes of George Russell after falling back in the late stages on the less favored one-stop strategy.

Both teams sent a representative to speak to the stewards, stating that “the high wear on the skid pads was probably a result of 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 noted that “the onus is on the competitor to ensure that the car is in compliance with the regulations at all times during an event. In this particular case, the rear skid in the area defined in the Technical Delegate’s report was outside of the thresholds outlined in Article 3.5.9 e) of the FIA Formula One Technical Regulations, which includes a tolerance for wear.”

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff accepted Hamilton’s disqualification and felt the excessive plank wear was triggered by the bumpy track and debuting its upgrade package on a sprint race weekend.

“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,” Wolff said in a Mercedes press release.

“It is of course disappointing to be disqualified post-race,” said Hamilton in Mercedes’ post-race debrief, “but that doesn’t take away from the progress we’ve made this weekend.”

He added: “We had good pace, and I was feeling great in the car. It was tough racing those around me as they were so quick, but we can be happy with many things.”

With that said, was the car fast because it was set too low, which generates more underfloor downforce? How fast would Hamilton have been if his car was set at the proper ride height?

The disqualification moves Norris up to second and promotes Carlos Sainz to the podium places. Sergio Perez moves to fourth and extends his lead over Hamilton in the fight for second in the drivers’ championship.

Russell jumps from seventh to fifth, Pierre Gasly to sixth and Lance Stroll to seventh. Yuki Tsunoda was eighth, with the Japanese racer also grabbing the bonus point for fastest lap on a good day for AlphaTauri.

It also means that Williams score with both cars, Alex Albon inheriting ninth place and Logan Sargeant grabbing his first F1 point with P10 on home soil.

Revised 2023 USGP Results