Lewis Hamilton was disqualified from the US Grand Prix after his car failed post-race inspection, causing the seven-time world champion to lose his second place.
The controversy came just four hours after he fell two seconds short to Dutchman Max Verstappen following the competition in Austin, Texas.
Four cars were randomly checked at the flag, but Hamilton’s vehicle was ruled illegal due to excessive wear on the underbody skid blocks.
Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc, who finished sixth, also suffered the same fate and was excluded from his podium finish.
The skids on the underside of each car, which come into contact with the track and cause sparks, must have a minimum ground clearance for F1 cars. Both Hamilton and Leclerc’s vehicles were so worn out that they no longer met competition standards.
The depth of Hamilton’s Mercedes’ new floor was found to be “outside the thresholds set out in Article 3.5.9 e)” – which states that the floorboard must not be worn to a thickness of less than 9mm.
Hamilton’s disqualification meant McLaren’s Lando Norris moved up to second place, while Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz took third place.
Among the spectators in the stunned crowd was Prince Harry, who laughed and chatted animatedly with Red Bull Racing team boss Christian Horner.
Lewis Hamilton was disqualified from the US Grand Prix after his car failed post-race inspection, causing the seven-time world champion to lose his second place
Hamilton’s disqualification meant McLaren’s Lando Norris moved up to second place, while Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz took third place
Among those watching in the stunned crowd was Prince Harry, pictured with Red Bull Racing team boss Christian Horner
Lewis Hamilton (pictured celebrating his second place) was disqualified from the US Grand Prix after his car failed post-race inspection, causing the seven-time world champion to lose his second place
How the race went:
By Tyrell Feaster
Hamilton conceded a 10-second lead over Max Verstappen as Mercedes left their star driver in no man’s land as they tried a one-stop strategy at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin.
Hamilton was less than two seconds behind leader Lando Norris and five seconds ahead of Verstappen, who started only sixth, as they approached the first round of pit stops.
But when Verstappen and Norris stopped for fresh tires on the 16th and 17th laps respectively, Hamilton was told to stay out – with an alternative strategy to Verstappen seen as the only way to beat the all-conquering Dutchman fall. It quickly became clear that the decision was wrong.
Hamilton finished four laps later than Verstappen, with a slow front right tire change compounding his problems. When he came out of the pits he had dropped to third, five seconds behind Verstappen and 7.5 seconds behind Norris.
Hamilton got ahead of Norris with a dozen laps to go, but was unable to catch Verstappen and took the checkered flag an agonizing 2.2 seconds behind.
Hamilton was already concerned about the condition of his tires during one of his pit stops.
When asked if he could do another lap on the wheels, he said: “I’m not sure, man. ‘It’s pretty tough.’
Despite his reservations, he set off with the same tires. But soon his race engineer came back on the intercom and informed the driver that Verstappen – who had decided to put new tires on – had been driving three seconds faster than him.
Responding to the update, the British driver angrily said: “No s*** man. ‘I’m out here fighting.’
Hamilton conceded a 10-second lead over Max Verstappen as Mercedes left their star driver in no man’s land as they tried a one-stop strategy at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin.
The British F1 star was less than two seconds behind leader Lando Norris and five seconds ahead of Verstappen, who started only sixth, as they approached the first round of pit stops.
Hamilton finished four laps later than Verstappen, with a slow front right tire change compounding his problems. When he came out of the pits he had dropped to third, five seconds behind Verstappen and 7.5 seconds behind Norris.
Hamilton got ahead of Norris with a dozen laps to go, but was unable to catch Verstappen and took the checkered flag an agonizing 2.2 seconds behind.
After receiving second place, he bragged that if it had been any other day he would have beaten the Dutch winner.
He told reporters: “Yes, I think we would have been able to fight Max and we made life harder for ourselves than it had to be.”
Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc, who finished sixth, also suffered the same fate and was excluded from his podium finish
Mercedes driver Hamilton and Red Bull Racing’s Dutch driver Max Verstappen celebrate on the podium, just hours before the British driver was disqualified
Red Bull driver Max Verstappen celebrates his victory at the United States Grand Prix on the podium. He is pictured with Hamilton, who was later disqualified from his second place finish
The audience celebrates Verstappen after his second place at the F1 Grand Prix in the USA
“There were a lot of areas where we could have been better and the positive thing is that we were able to keep up with them in terms of speed.”
“Second is great.” “To compete this weekend and be really strong, a solid second place, it feels really positive.”
Updated US Grand Prix results:
1. Max Verstappen, Red Bull
2. Lando Norris, McLaren
3. Carlos Sainz, Ferrari
4. Sergio Perez, Red Bull
5. George Russell, Mercedes
6. Pierre Gasly, Alpine
7. Lance Stroll, Aston Martin
8. Yuki Tsunoda, AlphaTauri
9. Alex Albon, Williams
10. Logan Sargeant, Williams
The F1 champion said his team needed to find “the right strategy and the right pit stops” so they could “drive for victory”.
Mercedes boss Toto Wolff added: “At the moment we have mixed emotions because it hurts to have lost a race that we could have won.”
A few hours later, however, Hamilton’s Mercedes team was taken to the FIA commissioners in Austin.
A statement said: “The stewards heard from the team representatives of car 44, the technical delegate, the FIA single-seater director and the FIA single-seater technical director.”
“During the hearing, the team acknowledged that the measurement carried out by the FIA technical team was correct and explained that the high level of wear on the brake pads was likely due to the unique combination of the bumpy track and sprint racing schedule, which minimized the adjustment time beforehand Get up after the race and check the car.
“The stewards point out that it is the participant’s responsibility to ensure that the car complies with regulations at all times during an event.”
“In this particular case, the rear skid was outside the threshold values that include wear tolerance in the area defined in the Technical Delegate’s report.
“Therefore, the standard penalty is imposed for a violation of the technical regulations.”
After his disqualification, Hamilton expressed his disappointment but tried to remain positive.
Hamilton pictured with Verstappen and Lando Norris
Hamilton’s disqualification meant McLaren’s Lando Norris moved up to second place, while Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz took third place
He said: “It was tough competing against the people around me because they were so fast, but we can be happy with a lot of things.”
“I am confident that we will move forward, even if we think about the fact that we could have possibly won today.”
“It’s obviously disappointing to be disqualified after the race, but that doesn’t take away from the progress we made this weekend.”
It is not the first time that racing stars have suffered such a fate. Michael Schumacher was disqualified from the 1994 Belgian Grand Prix for the same offense, meaning Damon Hill took victory.
Logan Sargeant, who finished 12th for Williams, scored his first point – and the first by an American since Michael Andretti for McLaren at the Italian Grand Prix 30 years ago.
Hamilton has won six times across the pond, including five wins here in Austin
Mercedes have confirmed to Mail Sport that they will not appeal the decision.