Hamilton disqualified as Verstappen wins US GP

By the conclusion of the race, Hamilton was in near proximity to a Verstappen who was encountering difficulties.

After closely chasing Max Verstappen's Red Bull for a potential win, Lewis Hamilton was removed from his second place position in the US Grand Prix.

At the finish line, Verstappen had a mere two-second advantage over Hamilton. Unfortunately, Hamilton's vehicle was deemed illegal due to the excessive wear and tear on its underfloor skid blocks.

Charles Leclerc from Ferrari had a similar experience and ended up in sixth place.

The exclusion of Hamilton from the race results caused Norris from McLaren to move up to the second position, while Sainz from Ferrari got the third place.

Verstappen was cautious and strategic, systematically overtaking the vehicles ahead of him before preserving his position to secure his 50th triumph in his career.

Hamilton overtook Norris to secure second place in the last few laps of the race. Unfortunately, he didn't have enough time to catch up with Verstappen, who was leading the race.

Hamilton's Fate: What Occurred?

Hamilton being disqualified made it tough to infer anything from the race. Prior to the technical mishap, Hamilton and Mercedes regretted not altering their strategy, as they perceived themselves as having missed out on the opportunity to attain victory.

The bumpers are installed to avoid teams using vehicles that are too close to the ground, as it may result in an advantageous aerodynamic effect.

The Red Bull was not as fast as it usually is this year, and Norris and Hamilton put pressure on Verstappen to earn his victory.

However, Mercedes' unintentional mistake muddles the race's overall outcome, despite the team appearing to make progress with their updated vehicle.

Mercedes attempted to implement a single pit-stop strategy while Verstappen and Norris opted for a double, but unfortunately it did not work out as intended. It ended up causing Hamilton to lose more time than the actual gap that ultimately resulted in his defeat.

The plan of Mercedes was halted as Hamilton's tires abruptly began to underperform after only a couple of laps. This caused Hamilton to switch to a different strategy, where he needed to overtake both the McLaren and the Red Bull drivers in order to come out as the victorious one.

With just six laps left, Hamilton successfully caught up to Norris and overtook him to secure the second spot.

With only seven laps remaining, he attempted to overtake Norris on the inside of Turn One, but Norris was able to defend his position with a last-minute maneuver.

The racer who has won seven times needed to quickly move to the outer edge of the track. From there, they made a sharp turn and overtook Norris when they left the corner. They managed to pass Norris on the outer edge and then went into Turn Two to try and catch up to Verstappen. Unfortunately, they were not able to surpass Verstappen by the end of the race.

The champion of the world was ahead by five seconds with only six laps left. Despite having brake problems that resulted in several angry radio messages, he managed to keep a safe distance from the Mercedes and win the race.

In the final stages of the race, Charles Leclerc was overtaken by his fellow team-member Carlos Sainz, thus losing his spot in fourth place. The team had opted for a one-stop strategy for Leclerc, but unfortunately, it didn't unfold as planned.

Leclerc received a directive to allow Sainz to pass him, which he contested via the radio communication system, but eventually relented and obeyed.

It was clear why it happened - the Ferraris were being followed closely by Sergio Perez from Red Bull. As Leclerc's tyres began to lose their grip, Perez swiftly overtook him with no trouble at all, just two laps before the end of the race.

George Russell from Mercedes secured the seventh position, coming just behind Leclerc.

Verstappen's Impressive Hold - How?

Verstappen's victory was well-deserved despite Red Bull not having its usual significant advantage over its opponents in terms of race pace due to the bumpy track at Circuit of the Americas.

The man from the Netherlands began the race in sixth position and successfully passed Russell at the initial turn. Meanwhile, Norris secured the top spot after beating Leclerc who had started in pole position, and Sainz pushed Hamilton down to fourth place.

At the beginning of the race, Norris was in the lead with Leclerc, Sainz, Hamilton, and Verstappen close behind. However, as the race progressed, Hamilton and Verstappen overtook the Ferraris and began a thrilling three-way battle for the leading position by the eleventh lap.

On lap 16, Verstappen made his initial pit stop. At that point, he was trailing Norris, the first-place driver, by 6.5 seconds. Hamilton was right on Norris' heels, just two seconds behind him.

Norris switched to the hard tires during the next lap, while Verstappen stayed with the mediums selected by Red Bull. Norris was still leading, but Verstappen applied more pressure, caught up, and overtook Norris to take the lead on the 28th lap.

Verstappen's decision to make a late dive to the inside from a significant distance away was a smart maneuver. However, there was still a considerable portion of the race left to be played out.

Hamilton chose to make his first pit stop on lap 20, while Mercedes contemplated adopting a one-stop plan. Unfortunately, this choice did not work out as planned. His tyres began to wear out quickly, causing him to fall behind by 10 seconds in a span of just five laps compared to Verstappen.

Similar to Norris, Hamilton opted for the more challenging tires and restarted the race 7.1 seconds behind Verstappen, who was trailing Norris by 2.5 seconds at the moment.

Verstappen was committed to a plan that involved stopping twice, whereas Norris and Hamilton could potentially get away with stopping just once.

Excessive tire wear made it impossible for either team to consider it, however, Mercedes opted to stick to their off-set strategy by delaying Hamilton's pit stop for three laps after Verstappen's second stop. They were relying on Hamilton's ability to catch up with Verstappen and Norris before the race concluded.

The conclusion was captivating as Hamilton began his last leg of the race, trailing Norris by six seconds, while Verstappen was ahead by a few seconds.

Hamilton expressed his dissatisfaction with Mercedes for providing him with a considerable amount of time to recover. Eventually, his assertion proved to be correct. Although he was able to catch up with Norris at a rapid pace, he was unable to reach Verstappen as he was just too far ahead.

Hamilton narrowed the gap and was only two seconds away from Verstappen as they headed towards the last lap. It was certain that the three-time champion would not relinquish this advantage.

Mercedes must have regretted their decision after seeing Hamilton's incredible speed during the race. They might have had the chance to take the win if they had chosen to keep Verstappen behind Hamilton during the first pit stops instead of going for an off-set strategy.

On the other hand, Hamilton was motivated by the speed of his vehicle that had been equipped with its final major enhancement for the season.

However, their disqualification that followed made those thoughts insignificant. Nevertheless, the team was still confident that they had progressed with the car.