Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton were disqualified from the United States Grand Prix result after the skids on their cars were not in compliance with the rules. This decision was surely unpleasing to both drivers as the Monegasque even ‘approved’ the discourse against the decision on X, formerly known as Twitter, as it was taken on a roulette.
That means the inspection made by the FIA was only on four cars— Max Verstappen and Lando Norris were also checked. The selection of these four cars was random, and no explanation was made for it.
So, Tom Bellingham had something to say about this practice. And certainly, his dissent got support from the Ferrari star.
Charles Leclerc approves discontent with the FIA
Bellingham objected to the FIA randomly selecting drivers and checking the car instead of just inspecting the entire field. Thus giving away the possibility of picking more culprits.
The fact only four cars get checked and half of them were illegal makes you wonder if anyone else would have failed this? Surely it can’t just be the (bad) luck of the draw of getting checked
— Tom Bellingham (@TomP1Bellingham) October 23, 2023
Leclerc was later spotted liking the tweet, meaning he was also not delighted with him getting axed. Surely, he would be dejected as he lost crucial eight points.
SPEAK YOUR TRUTH, KING pic.twitter.com/sqtQqrsdBd
— clara (@leclercsletters) October 23, 2023
While Leclerc couldn’t find anything positive from the race, Hamilton’s result benefitted Ferrari amidst their battle with Mercedes in the standings.
Lewis Hamilton DQS helped Ferrari
Before Hamilton got snubbed from his P2 finish, Mercedes was going home collecting 24 points compared to Ferrari’s 20. However, with the following announcement by the FIA, Mercedes finished with 10 points compared to Ferrari’s 15.
Thus, in the standings, the two teams are only separated by 22 points, with Ferrari trailing. So, with four more races to go, something can be done by Ferrari.
However, with the recent updates by Mercedes in Austin, the Silver Arrows looked quite fast. So much so that had there been a few more laps, Max Verstappen would have been at risk of losing to Hamilton.
