Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc have been disqualified from the results of the United States Grand Prix after being found to be in breach of the rules governing the wear of the wooden plank fitted under each chassis.
A plank has been fitted to the underside of F1 cars since 1994 and measured for wear before and after races, a low-tech way of preventing teams from running extremely low ride heights which may pose a safety risk. Failing the test is an automatic DSQ.
Hamilton had enjoyed his most competitive race of the season this weekend, finishing in second place after narrowly falling short of catching and passing Max Verstappen in the final laps.
Leclerc had started from pole position but lost the lead to Lando Norris into the first corner. An attempt to run a one-stop strategy backfired, and he ended up finishing the race in sixth.
But when the Mercedes and Ferrari cars were put through post-race scrutineering, it emerged that both had failed checks on the plank mounted underneath the chassis.
Both teams sent a representative to speak to the stewards, arguing 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 minimised the time to set up and check the car before the race."
However, the Stewards noted 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."
They were deemed in breach of Article 3.5.9 e) of the 2023 F1 technical regulations which states “The thickness of the plank assembly measured normal to the lower surface must be 10mm ±0.2mm and must be uniform when new.
“A minimum thickness of 9mm will be accepted due to wear, and conformity to this provision will be checked at the peripheries of the designated holes.”
Norris and race winner Max Verstappen and Lando Norris were also investigated for the same infraction, but in their cases further tests proved that they were within the mandated rules.
The FIA did not indicate whether the planks of the 13 other classified finishers - including the cars belonging to Hamilton and Leclerc’s team mates - had also been inspected as part of the process.
It's not yet clear whether Mercedes and Ferrari will appeal. As things stand, the disqualifications mean Norris is raised to second while Leclerc’s team mate Carlos Sainz inherits the final podium place and Sergio Perez takes fourth.
George Russell, Pierre Gasly, Lance Stroll and Yuki Tsunoda are all promoted two places to P5, P6, P7 and P8 respectively.
It's also a bonanza for the two Williams drivers who originally missed out on the points. Alex Albon takes ninth, while rookie driver Logan Sargeant ends up claiming his very first championship point at his home race.
In a separate investigation, Lance Stroll had also ordered to see the stewards over a mistake he made before the race even started.
After problems forcing him to retire in Saturday's Sprint race, Aston Martin worked on his car overnight, breaching parc ferme rules and requiring him to start Sunday's race from pit lane.
But when he went out for his pre-race reconnaissance lap he appeared to forget this, missed pit entry and headed for the dummy grid instead, requiring the Aston pit crew to come out and retrieve it through an opening in the pit wall.
This could have been a breach of Article 44 of the FIA Sporting Regulations dealing with the procedure for a race start, putting Stroll's first points since the Belgian Grand Prix were at risk.
But it turned out that the rules didn't actually say anything expressly applicable to Stroll's actions, and the stewards concluded there were no grounds to penalise the Canadian.
“The Stewards note that the scenario caused by the incident was far from ideal," a tongue-in-cheek statement from the FIA concluded. “However, having reviewed the matter in detail, although the established process was not followed, no breach of any regulation was evident.”
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