Lewis Hamilton, Charles Leclerc Disqualified From US Grand Prix

 

After the good run that Lewis Hamilton had at the US Grand Prix on Sunday, Mercedes has been disqualified for technical rules breach concerning skid block. Also included in the disqualification was Ferrari's Charles Leclerc. 

Hamilton finished second behind Max Verstappen, who won the race for his 15th of the season, which extended his total career victories to 50. However, what does skid block have to do with racing? 

Skid block, otherwise know as the plank is used to control cars' ride-height, which can give an undue advantage. The lower ride-height is, the faster a car gets. As the rules provide, the thickness of plank assembly measurement to the surface is required to be 10mm (plus or minus 0.2mmm) and has to be uniform across the vehicle. 

During an inspection that was carried out randomly after the race, Hamilton and Leclerc's cars were found to have breached the rules. The consequence of that is disqualification. 

Flouting the rules means Verstappen had undue advantage because of pace disadvantage of Mercedes that potentially would have outpaced Red Bull's should the ride-height limit be adhere to. 

Hamilton finished the race two seconds behind the three-time champion, meanwhile, he had commended the improvements made to Mercedes especially on corner entry which is expected to have improved. 

The disqualification means Hamilton and Leclerc will lose their US GP results and their positions will now be replaced by trailing drivers. Lando Norris now moved up one place to be second as Hamilton is dropped. Likewise, Carlos Sainz moved up to P3 while his teammate Leclerc is dropped.