"A great race gone to waste" - Lewis Hamilton fans react after Mercedes driver gets disqualified from the 2023 F1 US GP

Lewis Hamilton was disqualified from the 2023 F1 US GP due to excessive wear on the rear underbody plank area, which goes against the FIA regulations. This was, of course, a massive blow to the seven-time world champion and Mercedes, since he lost his second-place finish and all his points in that race.

Despite being disqualified, Lewis Hamilton took the positives and was happy with how quick he and the car were throughout the race. After the race, he said:

"It is, of course, disappointing to be disqualified post-race, but that doesn’t take away from the progress we’ve made this weekend." (via mercedesamgf1.com)

The team also posted the details of the disqualification on their official X account, to which several fans reacted. Since Lewis Hamilton had an amazing race in Austin but lost everything after it due to excessive plank wear, many were angry with Mercedes.

While some were passive while complaining about the team, others were more aggressive. Some even urged Mercedes to publish a video of team members apologizing to Lewis Hamilton for not focusing on the plank wear.

Here are some of the reactions:

"A great race gone to waste"

"That's saddening. It's so irresponsible of team. Lewis has lot crucial points for the championship 2nd place fight."

"I mean come on, this is simple stuff guys. Just ruined an amazing weekend for Lewis. Awful."

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FIA on Lewis Hamilton's and Charles Leclerc's disqualification from the 2023 F1 US GP

The FIA recently published a statement announcing that both Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc had been disqualified from the 2023 F1 US GP due to plank wear. They explained that a bumpy track and a different sprint race schedule did not offer teams sufficient time to check the planks.

The statement read:

"During the hearing, the team acknowledged that the measurement performed by the FIA Technical Team was correct and stated that the high wear on the skid pads was probably a result of the unique combination of the bumpy track and the Sprint race schedule that minimized the time to set up and check the car before the race."

"The Stewards note that the onus is on the competitor to ensure that the car is in compliance with the regulations at all times during an event. In this particular case, the rear skid in the area defined in the Technical Delegate’s report was outside of the thresholds outlined in Article 3.5.9 e) of the FIA Formula One Technical Regulations, which includes a tolerance for wear. Therefore, the standard penalty for a breach of the Technical Regulations is imposed."

Since Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc got disqualified, Lando Norris was pushed to second place while Carlos Sainz bagged another podium finish after being promoted to third. Down the order, Logan Sargeant scored his first point in F1 because of the reshuffle of the race results.