Lewis Hamilton disqualified from podium finish at US Grand Prix despite track concerns

Lewis Hamilton has been disqualified from second place in the F1 United States Grand Prix after his Mercedes car failed a post-race check by the FIA.

Stewards found that the plank on the underfloor of Hamilton's Mercedes had worn too thin during the Grand Prix, breaching the regulations.

Ferrari's Charles Leclerc was also disqualified from the race after his car breached the same regulation.

Mercedes believe the the excess wear was likely caused by a combination of the Sprint race schedule - which minimised set-up time before the race - and the bumpy track at the Circuit of the Americas.

The FIA perform random checks on cars after each Grand Prix, with the cars of Hamilton, Leclerc, race winner Max Verstappen and third-placed Lando Norris all being scrutinised on Sunday. Norris was promoted to second place as a result of Hamilton's disqualification.

Hamilton finished just under two seconds behind Verstappen's Red Bull after starting from third on the grid.

After dropping down to fourth at the start, the Brit passed the Ferraris of Leclerc and Carlos Sainz, and was behind Norris in second before the first round of pit stops.

Mercedes attempted to offset Hamilton's strategy compared to Verstappen and Norris. It initially dropped him down to third, but paid dividends later on as he passed the McLaren of Norris after the second round of stops.

He then caught up to Verstappen, who was nursing a brake issue, towards the end of the Grand Prix but ran out of time to challenge the Dutchman for the win.

While the disqualification was a bitter blow for Mercedes, it was clear they had made yet more progress on a weekend where they closed the gap to Red Bull.

🚨BREAKING: Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc referred to stewards after the planks on their cars were found to be non-compliant with the rules in post-race checks #F1 #USGP pic.twitter.com/nR0zC0BUMt

— Autosport (@autosport) October 22, 2023

But both Verstappen and Hamilton raised concerns about the bumpiness of the COTA track - one of the key issues that led to the latter's disqualification - in their post-race press conference.

Verstappen said (quotes via The Athletic): "It [the track] needs to be redone because, at the moment, it feels like it's better suited to a rally car."

Hamilton, who ranks COTA as one of his favourite circuits, did agree with the assessment, and added: "I like the some of the bumps because [it] adds character to a circuit. But there's way too many."

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