Mercedes chief admits ‘we got it wrong’ after Lewis Hamilton is disqualified from US Grand Prix for driving vehicle with ‘excessive wear’ – as audio reveals racer snapped when he was told Max Verstappen would beat him after delayed pit stop
Mercedes chief Toto Wolff has admitted ‘we got it wrong’ after Lewis Hamilton was disqualified from the US Grand Prix for failing a post-race inspection by driving a car with excessive wear.
The British F1 star was initially handed second place at the championship in Austin, Texas but just hours later was disqualified when his car failed the check for excessive base wear.
Hamilton had already seemed wary of the state of his tyres during one of his pit stops, admitting when asked if he could complete another five laps on his current set of wheels: ‘I am not sure, man. It is pretty tough.’
Audio footage now shows the seven-time champion yelling at his team, just hours before he blamed Mercedes’ pit stop strategy for costing his first victory in almost two years.
In a statement, Wolff said: ‘Turning to the race result and the disqualification, set-up choices on a sprint weekend are always a challenge with just one hour of free practice – and even more so at a bumpy circuit like COTA and running a new package. In the end, all of that doesn’t matter; others got it right where we got it wrong and there’s no wiggle room in the rules. We need to take it on the chin, do the learning, and come back stronger next weekend.
It comes after as a star-studded crowd watched the race, including Prince Harry, recently single Joe Jonas, Greys Anatomy star Patrick Dempsey and Spice Girl Geri Halliwell.
Lewis Hamilton has been disqualified from the US Grand Prix after his car failed a post-race inspection, stripping the seven-time world champion of his second place finish
Hamilton’s disqualification meant that McLaren’s Lando Norris was promoted to second while Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz took third place
Amongst those watching in the stunned crowd was Prince Harry, pictured with Red Bull Racing Team Principal Christian Horner
Lewis Hamilton (pictured celebrating his second place) has been disqualified from the US Grand Prix after his car failed a post-race inspection, stripping the seven-time world champion of his second place finish
The driver was already wary of the state of his tyres during on of his pit stops. Asked if he could complete another lap on the set of wheels, he said: ‘I am not sure, man. It is pretty tough.’
Despite his reservation, he set off with the same tyres but when his brakes lcoked up, his race engineer was back on the intercom letting Hamilton know Verstappen had lapped three seconds faster than him.
The update was met with an irritated reply from the British driver who yelled: ‘No s*** man. I am struggling out here.’
The Duke of Sussex was pictured laughing and having animated chats with Red Bull Racing team principal Christian Horner.
As the race finished, four cars were subjected to random stop checks at the flags, including Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, who finished sixth, suffering the same fate and being barred from the podium.
The skids, which make contact with the track and causes sparks, are required to have a minimum ground clearance for F1 cars. Both Hamilton and Leclerc’s vehicles were so worn away they no longer met competition standards.
The depth of the new floor on Hamilton’s Mercedes was adjudged to be ‘outside the thresholds outlined in Article 3.5.9 e)’ – which states that the plank cannot wear to below 9mm thickness.
Hamilton’s disqualification meant that McLaren’s Lando Norris was promoted to second while Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz took third place.
Hamilton conceded a 10-second swing to Max Verstappen when Mercedes left their star driver in no man’s land as they attempted a one-stop strategy at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin.
The British F1 star was less than two seconds behind early leader Lando Norris and five seconds clear of Verstappen, who started only sixth, as they approached the opening round of pit stops.
Hamilton came in four laps later than Verstappen with a slow front-right tire change adding to his woes. When he emerged from the pits, he had dropped to third, five seconds adrift of Verstappen and 7.5 sec back from Norris.
Hamilton saw off Norris with a dozen laps to go, but he could not reel Verstappen in – taking the checkered flag an agonizing 2.2 sec behind.
After he was handed the second place title he on to boast that had it been a different day, he would have beaten the Dutch winner.
He told reporters: ‘Yes, I do think we would have been in position to fight Max and we made life harder for ourselves than it needed to be.
Prince Harry was spotted at the race, rocking black sunglasses and a black polo shirt
Patrick Dempsey, an actor and also an avid racer, was spotted wearing a blue shirt under a brown coat
Recently single Joe Jonas was also spotted in Texas for a major F1 race
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc , who finished sixth, also suffered the same fate and was barred from his place on the podium
Mercedes’ Hamilton and Red Bull Racing’s Dutch driver Max Verstappen celebrate on the podium just hours before the British driver was disqualified
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen celebrates on the podium after winning the United States Grand Prix. He is pictured with Hamilton, who was later disqualified from his second place position
The crowd celebrates Verstappen following his second place in at the F1 Grand Prix in the US
‘There were a lot of areas where we could have been better and the positives are we could match them for pace.
‘Second is great. To come in this weekend and have real strength, it is a solid second, it feels really positive.’
The F1 champion said that his team needs to ‘get the strategy right and the pitstops right’ so they ‘can be racing for a win’.
Mercedes boss Toto Wolff added: ‘At the moment, we have mixed feelings because there is the pain of just having lost a race that we could have won.
A few hours later, however, Hamilton’s Mercedes team were later taken to the FIA stewards in Austin.
A statement said: ‘The Stewards heard from the team representatives of car 44, the Technical Delegate, the FIA Single Seater Director and the FIA Single Seater Technical Director.
‘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 raceschedule that minimised the time to set up and check the car before the race.
‘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 which includes a tolerance for wear.
‘Therefore, the standard penalty for a breach of the Technical Regulations is imposed.’
Speaking after his disqualification, Hamilton spoke of his disappointment but tried to remain positive.
Hamilton pictured with Verstappen and Lando Norris
Hamilton’s disqualification meant that McLaren’s Lando Norris was promoted to second while Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz took third place
The royal was all smiles at the event, waving at photographers and mingling with several guests
While Dempsey is an actor best known for his roles in Grey’s Anatomy, he’s also an avid racer, even competing in the famous 24 Hours at LeMans race in 2013
Joe Jonas poses for a photo with a fan, while carrying a white tote bag and rocked white pants for the race day excursion
He said: ‘It was tough racing those around me as they were so quick, but we can be happy with many things.
‘I feel positive as we’re moving forward, even if reflecting on it we could have possibly won today.
‘It is of course disappointing to be disqualified post-race but that doesn’t take away from the progress we’ve made this weekend.’
It is not the first time racing stars have suffered such a fate. Michael Schumacher was disqualified from the 1994 Belgian Grand Prix for the same offence, meaning Damon Hill took the win.
Logan Sargeant, who finished 12th for Williams, scored his first point – and the first by an American since Michael Andretti for McLaren in Italy Grand Prix 30 years ago.
Hamilton has won six times across the Pond, with five of those victories here in Austin
Mercedes have confirmed to Mail Sport that they are not appealing the decision.
