The American silver lining that emerges from Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc's disqualification from the 2023 F1 US GP

Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton were recently disqualified from the 2023 F1 US GP as their cars' underbody planks had excessive wear, more than what the FIA regulations allow in a single Grand Prix. Hence, both were essentially removed from the race results, and other drivers were automatically promoted accordingly.

This disaster for Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton turned out to be great news for a certain American rookie, Logan Sargeant. The young gun is racing in his first F1 season but is struggling to keep up with other drivers and his own teammate. After both the Ferrari and Mercedes drivers were disqualified, Sargeant was pushed forward from P12 to P10.

It meant that the 22-year-old secured his first point in F1. After the decision was announced by the FIA, Logan Sargeant took to Instagram to post pictures of his second home race of the season and expressed his delight at opening his account in the racing series.

Though Logan Sargeant is still 20th in the drivers' championship table, the points score further solidifies his case to retain his seat in Williams for next year.

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

After the 2023 F1 US GP, the FIA released a statement announcing that Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton had been disqualified from the 2023 F1 US GP due to excessive wear on their cars' skid pads.

They explained that the extra wear occurred due to a bumpy track in Austin and teams having less time to inspect these issues due to the sprint format. 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."

It continued:

"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."

While Lewis Hamilton's position in the drivers' championship table is still not in danger, Charles Leclerc has unfortunately been overtaken by Lando Norris, who finished second in Austin due to Lewis Hamilton's disqualification. Leclerc is now seventh in the standings (151), trailing the McLaren Mercedes driver by eight points.