Lewis Hamilton was shockingly stripped of his P2 finish at the United States Grand Prix last weekend after his car was randomly checked for a potential technical regulations breach. After being disqualified, the Briton believes that he was unlucky as there were other culprits too.
The stewards disqualified both Hamilton and Charles Leclerc following the conclusion of the race after they found out that the wear on the planks on both cars exceeded the permissible limits. As per Article 3.5.9 e) of the 2023 FIA Formula One Technical Regulations (as quoted by formula1.com), “A minimum thickness of 9mm will be accepted due to wear, and conformity to this provision will be checked at the peripheries of the designated holes“.
Since the Circuit of the Americas is a race track with several bumps, Hamilton believes that multiple cars will likely have had excess plank wear. While speaking ahead of this weekend’s Mexico GP, he said (as quoted by The Guardian), “I heard from several sources that there were a lot of other cars that were illegal and they were not tested so they got away with it“.
AUTO MOTOR UND SPORT [STORY TRANSLATED]
The disqualification of Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc in Austin has repercussions. Both were removed from the classification three and a half hours after the USA GP because their guard rails were worn beyond the permitted millimeter.
— Junaid #JB17 (@JunaidSamodien_) October 26, 2023
The Briton believes that he was unlucky to have been disqualified as only four cars were checked. Alongside himself, the FIA only checked the cars of Leclerc, Max Verstappen, and Lando Norris.
The disqualification was detrimental for Hamilton as he lost his second-place finish. However, even though the weekend ended terribly, the Silver Arrows had several positives to take.
Lewis Hamilton gave a tough fight to Max Verstappen for the win in Austin
Although Lewis Hamilton’s weekend ended in a disastrous fashion, he did demonstrate impeccable pace. The Briton crossed the line in Austin in second and finished just 2.2 seconds behind race-winner Max Verstappen.
The race in Austin is perhaps the closest Hamilton and Mercedes have come this season to grab a win. Since Mercedes were so strong in Austin, they will also enter this weekend’s Mexican GP as one of the favorites.
As the Silver Arrows continue to make gains on this year’s car, it also helps them to design a strong car for the 2024 season. This is because since the rules are relatively stable next year, teams will take any learnings from this season to make their 2024 car even stronger.
While there were a lot of positives to take for Mercedes from the race in Austin, Hamilton’s disqualification did hurt his chances of grabbing a potential second-place finish in the championship. The gap between Hamilton and second-placed Sergio Perez is currently 39 points, with four races remaining in the 2023 season.
