Mercedes and Ferrari have pinned Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc’s disqualifications from the United States Grand Prix on the sprint weekend format and the bumpy Circuit of the Americas surface.
Hamilton finished the race third and pole-getter Charles Leclerc claimed sixth, but both were excluded from the final classification for running their cars too low.
Ride height is governed by a wooden plank fixed beneath the car. The plank is 1 centimetre thick and can wear by no more than 1 millimetre over the course of the race without falling foul of the rules.
Continue reading on FOX SPORTSLewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc are disqualified from the US Grand Prix for breaking an almost 29-year-old rule by as little as 1 millimetre — and both the sprint format and the bumpy Austin track played a part. Daniel Ricciardo’s injury comeback hits a hurdle. Max Verstappen gives short shrift to rumour of a Red Bull rift.
Are sprint races too long? And why are people obsessed with planking again?
Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc were two standout performers at the United States Grand Prix, with Leclerc taking an unlikely pole position on Friday and Hamilton coming close to overhauling Max Verstappen for victory on Sunday.
By Sunday night they were notable for a completely different reason: both were disqualified from the race.
Disqualifications are rare, reserved largely for technical breaches and the most serious sporting breaches relating to the fairness of competition.
Continue reading on FOX SPORTSMax Verstappen beats Lewis Hamilton to a surprisingly close victory — before Hamilton is disqualified.
Lewis Hamilton has been stripped of second place at the United States Grand Prix after a post-race technical inspection revealed his Mercedes car was set up to run lower than allowed according to the regulations.
Charles Leclerc has also been disqualified from sixth place after Ferrari was found to have committed the same breach.
A random post-race technical check found both cars suffered excessive wear to their rear titanium skid blocks.
Continue reading on FOX SPORTSMerc’s missed victory chance before DSQ; silver lining to dual Aussie disasters: F1 talking points
The United States Grand Prix was going to be all about Mercedes’s late-season renaissance, with upgrades brought to Austin powering Lewis Hamilton to within a couple of seconds of Max Verstappen and an unlikely victory.
Then Hamilton was disqualified.
Both Hamilton and pole-getter Charles Leclerc were thrown out of the race for failing post-race technical inspections. Neither driver was at fault and the breaches will have had a limited effect on performance, but there’s zero tolerance when it comes to the technical rules.
Continue reading on FOX SPORTSMax Verstappen has won the United States Grand Prix, his 50th victory, after a strategic duel with Lewis Hamilton and Lando Norris.
The Dutchman started sixth on the grid behind polesitter Charles Leclerc, but it was Norris who got the best start, capitalizing on second on the grid being on the inside line into Turn 1 to easily seize the lead. The McLaren driver flexed his muscle early, sprinting to a 1.9s advantage at the end of the first lap.
Sainz moved up to third behind Leclerc, with Hamilton and Verstappen trailing, but it was clear early that the Ferrari drivers didn’t have the pace for the podium battle.
Continue reading on RACERMax Verstappen wins again, and by a lot, putting paid to any idea that Red Bull Racing might have a weakness at the Circuit of the Americas.
Max Verstappen will start the United States Grand Prix sprint from P1 after edging out Charles Leclerc for the top spot.
Leclerc, who nabbed pole during Friday qualifying for Sunday’s grand prix, was just 0.055s short of doing the qualifying double.
Verstappen’s performance wasn’t perfect, with a spin through the dirt exiting Turn 9 almost putting him into the barriers during SQ2, but a clean single lap in SQ3 was enough to see off the competition.
Continue reading on RACERMax Verstappen took a comfortable victory in the United States Grand Prix sprint ahead of Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc.
The Red Bull stalwart got a good launch to take the racing line into the first turn, though Leclerc, starting from the often-favorable second spot on the grid, had a look down the Dutchman’s inside before backing out of the move.
Leclerc checking up allowed Lewis Hamilton to sweep around the Ferrari’s outside, though he completed the move running wide over the curbs on exit. The stewards considered it fair game in the melee of the first lap, and the Briton was allowed to keep the place.
Continue reading on RACERCharles Leclerc will lead Lando Norris off the front row for Sunday’s grand prix after Max Verstappen bombs out of qualifying in sixth after a late track limits infringement.
Charles Leclerc beat Lando Norris to pole position for Sunday’s United States Grand Prix after Max Verstappen had his fastest time deleted for exceeding track limits.
Red Bull Racing’s pace advantage was reduced by the mixed demands of Circuit of The Americas and its rapidly evolving grip levels, turning the battle for pole into a genuine four-way contest between Verstappen, Leclerc, Norris and Lewis Hamilton.
Leclerc took provisional pole at the end of the first laps, in part thanks to Verstappen arriving at the last corner immediately behind teammate Sergio Perez, understeering through the left-hander in the Mexican’s dirty air.
Continue reading on RACERMax Verstappen led the sole practice session at the Circuit of The Americas ahead of Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton heading into qualifying this afternoon for the United States Grand Prix.
The sprint weekend format meant the single hour of free practice was busy on track, with teams attempting to cram a usual weekend’s 180 minutes of practice into a single session.
All three tire compounds featured over the 60 minutes, but it wasn’t until the final 10 minutes that most drivers switched to soft rubber for qualifying simulation laps just a few hours out from the grid-setting session.
Continue reading on RACERRed Bull Racing has won the drivers-constructors title double, but all is not calm as the team arrives in Austin.
Red Bull Racing principal Christian Horner has denied reports that he’s attempting to oust Red Bull motorsport adviser Helmut Marko from Formula 1.
Reports in the Brazilian and German media during the week suggested Horner has spent the last year making a play for total control of the energy drink brand’s F1 operations, which include both Red Bull Racing and AlphaTauri.
But Auto Bild has reported that three-time champion Max Verstappen has thrown his weight behind Marko, tying his future at the team to the Austrian retaining his place in the garage.
Continue reading on FOX SPORTSDaniel Ricciardo is set for his first race after almost two months sidelined with a broken hand — and as Sergio Pérez continues to struggle with bad form at Red Bull Racing. Meanwhile, the high-stakes, big-money argument over American Michael Andretti’s F1 bid simmers away ahead of the sport’s biggest race in the United States.
We ask AI Gerard Whateley whether the risk to Sergio Pérez’s seat is an overreaction.