Why Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc Were Disqualified from US Grand Prix?

Mercedes star Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc were both disqualified from Sunday’s US Grand Prix after their cars failed post-race inspections.

Former world champion Hamilton had finished second behind Max Verstappen in Austin while Leclerc came in sixth.

Both drivers saw those results scratched, however, after a technical team found excessive wear of their cars floor planks.

The disqualification came following a hearing that took place approximately four hours after Verstappen, who has already clinched the driver’s championship, powered to victory in Sunday’s race.

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A statement by motorsport’s governing body, the FIA, said both teams had acknowledged the findings of the inspection report, stating that the irregularities were likely caused by the bumpy track and the tight turnaround for Sunday’s race after Saturday’s sprint.

“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… therefore the standard penalty for a breach of the technical regulations is imposed,” the statement said.

Hamilton’s disqualification means McLaren’s Lando Norris was promoted to second, with Leclerc’s Ferrari teammate Carlos Sainz, who finished fourth, bumped to third.

Mercedes driver George Russell moved up to fifth from seventh following Leclerc’s disqualification.

Verstappen was booed during the race by a section of the crowd but he seemed to have not noticed that.

“Starting in P6, the whole race I was struggling a lot with the brakes so I couldn’t really have the same feeling as yesterday,” he said. “So that definitely made my race a bit tougher out there.

“Here you can see it was very close at the end and with the back-markers, and the tyres already going, it makes it all a bit more difficult. Of course, you don’t want to destroy the tyres, but at the same time I was struggling a lot on the braking so it took quite a while to at least find a bit of a middle way,” he added.