Lewis Hamilton, Charles Leclerc disqualified from US GP: Mercedes will 'learn' from rules breach
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Craig Slater, the F1 correspondent for Sky Sports, summarizes all the top moments from both the race track and the sidelines during the United States Grand Prix.
According to reports, Mercedes has expressed that they will take this experience as a learning opportunity after Lewis Hamilton was disqualified due to a technical violation on his car, which cost him his exciting second-place finish in the United States Grand Prix.
Hamilton and Charles Leclerc from Ferrari were disqualified from their second and sixth place finishes in Sunday's exciting race. This decision was made four hours after the conclusion of the race due to the wear and tear levels on the planks underneath their cars exceeding the limits that are outlined in the rules and regulations of Formula One.
Andrew Shovlin, the director of trackside engineering for Mercedes, expressed his disappointment in losing their spot on the podium. This outcome was not ideal for the team.
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Join the adventure from the driver's perspective as Lewis Hamilton successfully overtakes Lando Norris in an impressive battle for second place at the Circuit of the Americas.
Regrettably, this is one of the downsides of the sprint style, since we only have one hour of driving time before entering parc ferme.
During FP1, the competitors did not drive with a race fuel load. Additionally, the track is quite bumpy and has several areas where the vehicles must be positioned during the Grand Prix. These factors have resulted in wear levels that are greater than what was originally anticipated.
"We plan to reflect on this and extract valuable lessons from the situation, while also acknowledging the constructive aspects of our overall experience."
In the meantime, Hamilton and Leclerc teamed up to make a joint post on their Instagram profiles on Monday.
The blog entry, first composed on Hamilton's profile, displayed an image of the two of them appearing unhappy as they sat next to one another during a press conference at the Austin event, with the solitary word caption: "feeling."
About Disqualifications
Let's take a peek at the lower part of Charles Leclerc's Ferrari car from the 2021 Monaco GP event as it was being suspended and taken away due to a collision.
Do F1 vehicles possess a wooden board below them?
One of the top questions people often ask on Google regarding F1 cars is whether they have a piece of "wood" underneath the chassis. The answer is yes, they do.
Ensuring that cars do not come too close to the ground is an important safety precaution that is taken by regulating ride height.
Naturally, considering it's in the realm of F1, it's not just an ordinary piece of timber. The substance employed by teams is, in truth, a more intricate compressed wood laminate.
A new rule was introduced in 1994 that required all cars to have a plank as a safety measure. This was put in place halfway through the season after two terrible accidents occurred at Imola resulting in the deaths of Ayrton Senna and Roland Ratzenberger. This rule continues to be a part of the technical regulations.
According to the rules, the plank assembly needs to have a uniform thickness of 10mm ± 0.2mm if it's new. It also states that a minimum thickness of 9mm will be allowed due to wear. Mercedes and Ferrari didn't follow the second rule and were penalized.
for Formula One, has announced her retirement ahead of the 2022 season. Jo Bauer, who has been the FIA's technical delegate for Formula One for many years, has declared that she will be retiring before the start of the 2022 season.
At what time were Hamilton's and Leclerc's vehicles inspected?
The problems with Hamilton and Leclerc's vehicles were discovered during the standard inspection of cars in the pit lane following the Austin race. This inspection is conducted after each race.
The FIA technical delegate, Jo Bauer, completed a thorough inspection in accordance with the regulations outlined in the sports rulebook. This extensive check resulted in a four-page document released by the governing body on Sunday.
Several types of checks are completed on every finished car that is classified. These include verifying the weight, checking the fuel-flow meters, examining the tyres, and monitoring a range of limits on the hybrid power units. Other inspections are conducted on certain cars during races, picked randomly.
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Key moments from the American Grand Prix hosted at the Circuit of the Americas
An example of this occurred on Sunday when aerodynamics and bodywork of three vehicles (namely those of Perez, Norris and Tsunoda) were subjected to inspections and subsequently approved.
The physical state of the floor and planks of four cars underwent inspection, resulting in issues for Mercedes and Ferrari. Only two cars, namely Max Verstappen's Red Bull and Lando Norris' McLaren, met the approved limits. However, the Mercedes and Ferrari failed to meet these requirements.
Afterwards, the issue was brought up to the stewards and from that moment on, there was only one probable outcome.
Although it's common practice to perform parc ferme checks after a race, some people are now questioning why only certain cars are checked for their plank wear. Furthermore, if half of the cars tested are found to be non-compliant, there are suggestions that the testing should be expanded to include more cars.
Bernie Collins from Sky F1 shared a blog post on X:
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In actuality, it would be impossible to test every single part of all the cars during every single race weekend due to the necessary time and logistics. As a result, there is a possibility of random evaluations on specific components instead.
Was the use of a wooden board as a vehicle's base providing any advantage in performance?
It is impossible to measure the difference in lap times, and it doesn't really matter anyways. So, discussing it is not very important.
In cases where a car violates technical regulations, even if there are reasons that could lessen the severity of the situation, the FIA enforces a strict policy of no tolerance. Therefore, the standard consequence is disqualification from the results.
Understanding that this is true, taking any chance of violating the plank-wear rules is obviously something that Mercedes or Ferrari would not have desired. Additionally, the stewards did not imply that either team had any intention of breaking the rules.
On the contrary, both teams acknowledged that the differences during a tightly scheduled Sprint weekend and the rough terrain of the CoTA track caused them to be ill-prepared, resulting in neither team disputing the ruling.
Actually, it transpired that we were too close to the limit and, due to the wind having changed course and blowing with greater force than predicted, our vehicle was eventually deemed illegal. This was stated by Diego Ioverno, the sporting director of Ferrari.
Looking back at the weekend in retrospect, we could have heightened the car even further. However, doing so would have negatively impacted the car's overall performance and our main goal is to improve our own performance.
Impact Of Double DSQs In Championships?
Hamilton's missed points have allowed Perez to have some unexpected space and time for rest.
After the race on Sunday, Hamilton was only 19 points away from Sergio Perez in the rankings. He had a great chance of passing the Red Bull driver in the last four races of the season.
However, because the Mercedes driver was excluded, Perez benefitted greatly with a 20-point increase in his favor. His opponent lost 18 points for coming in second place, while Perez was able to gain two more points by moving up from fifth to fourth place in the updated standings.
With only four races left in the season, Perez has accumulated an impressive thirty-nine points. This has resulted in a significant advantage and increased confidence for the Red Bull team, who are determined to secure their first-ever Drivers' Championship one-two.
championship The recent Grand Prix saw Ferrari coming in second place after Mercedes in the constructors' championship. This is a significant achievement for Ferrari, who have been trying to catch up with Mercedes for some time. They were able to narrow the gap between the two teams and secure a spot on the podium. It will be interesting to see how the rest of the season plays out, with both teams fighting for the top spot.
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In Austin, Charles Leclerc was clearly frustrated when he complied with the team's orders to let his Ferrari team-mate, Carlos Sainz, pass him. To make matters worse, Leclerc's car was later disqualified due to excessive wear on its underfloor skid blocks.
Even though both Mercedes and Ferrari had to let go of one of their cars in the last results, the final outcome showed that the Scuderia had scored more points during the Austin event. This was due to Carlos Sainz completing two positions ahead of George Russell in their respective cars. It is worth noting that Mercedes and Ferrari had a faster race pace and a near-victory, but in the end, it was the Scuderia who earned more points.
Ferrari managed to score six points in their recent competition against Mercedes, therefore decreasing their gap to 22 points.
In this article, it is noted that Norris has made progress in his racing career and is now approaching the levels of Ferrari and Alonso.
The disqualifications held a double meaning for Lando Norris.
Regarding the competition, he obtained the second place from Hamilton, which tied his personal record of achieving the same result five times this year.
When it comes to his championship status getting better, Norris gained three additional points by securing second place. This caused Leclerc to lose all his points and enabled Norris to surpass his Ferrari opponent and secure the sixth position in the standings. This was the first time in 2023 that Norris had made it to the top six.
In addition, he has narrowed the gap to fourth position occupied by Fernando Alonso by only 24 points. Alonso retired from the race and did not score points during the Sprint weekend in Austin. Sainz is currently 12 points behind Alonso in fifth place.
The Williams and AlphaTauri teams had some significant achievements during the recent Formula One race. Both teams managed to secure important points, which could make a big difference in their standings for the season. Williams, in particular, had a strong showing at the race. Driver George Russell was able to finish in 12th place, giving the team its first points of the season. This will be a morale booster for the team, which has struggled in recent years. AlphaTauri also had a good race, with both drivers finishing in the top 10. This was particularly impressive given that the team has been struggling with reliability issues in recent races. Driver Pierre Gasly was able to secure seventh place, while his teammate Yuki Tsunoda finished in ninth. Overall, these results are a positive sign for both teams. They will be hoping to build on this success in the upcoming races and continue to climb up the standings.
However, the prominent victors on this particular day were Williams, who unexpectedly gained three points due to the dual disqualification. Even though this may not appear to be a significant achievement, it equates to 12% of their overall season performance and bolsters the squad's position in seventh place in the rankings, surpassing Alfa Romeo's position.
It's highly probable that Logan Sargeant, the sole racer on the grid without a 2024 contract, will derive great mental encouragement from obtaining his inaugural F1 point during his hometown event, finishing in tenth.
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Meanwhile, AlphaTauri's score in the race increased from two points (10th place and fastest lap) to five points (eighth place and fastest lap). This doubled their total score for the entire season. This result has given them renewed optimism to crawl up from the bottom of the standings in the last four races of the season. With a mere two-point gap separating them from Haas, they now have a chance to make a comeback.
The F1 race is now going to Mexico for the second part of the Americas triple header. You can catch live coverage of the entire Mexico City Grand Prix weekend on Sky Sports F1 starting from Friday, and the race itself on Sunday at 8pm. You can also tune in to F1 on Sky Sports using NOW.
