Mercedes chief hopeful of closing the gap by a “decent amount” to F1 rivals Red Bull

Despite being disqualified from the US GP, Mercedes technical director James Allison is hopeful of closing the gap by a "decent amount" to their F1 rival RedBull.

Second-place podium finisher Lewis Hamilton was disqualified from the United States Grand Prix after the FIA discovered that the wooden plank board under his Mercedes was too worn out.

Throughout the US GP, Hamilton was the closest to RedBull's Max Verstappen. Hamilton and Mercedes were aiming for a possible win since Verstappen was struggling with his brakes.

James Allison explained how the team made an error which led to the disqualification of the seven-time world champion.

“You are allowed a certain amount of erosion of that skid block by touching the ground but no more than 1 mm, else if your car is inspected and found to be below that 9 mm then you will have been deemed to running your car too low and you’ll be disqualified. Indeed, that is what happened in our case," he said in a team debrief video.

Following Mercedes's upgrades to the W14, Hamilton has delivered a highly impressive performance in Austin. Allison stated that the team's performance progress will help them overcome the disappointment of the disqualification.

"But we did it and we did it by a decent amount. And with four races left in the championship, four races where I am pretty sure we will stay on the right side of the skid block rules," Allison added.

Along with Hamilton, Ferrari's Charles Leclerc was also disqualified for the same reason. Leclerc started the US GP from pole position and was disqualified from his sixth-place finish.

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Lewis Hamilton is "positive" after Mercedes's performance boost

F1 US Grand Prix Auto Racing

Lewis Hamilton was very close to bridging the gap between himself and Max Verstappen's Red Bull during the US GP. Had it not been for a strategic error and long pitstop, Hamilton believes that he would've caught the Red Bull ahead of him.

Speaking to SkySportsF1 after the race but before being disqualified, Hamilton had stated that he is feeling really 'positive' owing to Mercedes's performance boost.

"Feel really positive because we've still got a few races up ahead," he said.

"I don't know how the car's going to be in these next races but if we're in a position like this and we get the strategy right and we get the pit-stop right, maybe we'll be right on their tails and looking at some good racing. So I'm excited," he continued.

Even the team's Technical Director, James Allison, stated that the team is confident that the W14 will close the gap to Red Bull by a "decent amount".