Lewis Hamilton is being investigated by the United States Grand Prix stewards after a check on his Mercedes car which could threaten his podium finish. .
The seven-time world champion finished the Austin race second. And he might even have won if the race was a couple of laps longer, given he was gaining on winner Max Verstappen all the time in the late stages.
He had to settle for second place in the end, but now even that result is under threat. The FIA technical delegate Jo Bauer found a problem on his Mercedes when it was inspected after the race.
The cars of Hamilton and Charles Leclerc were inspected for their floors and plank wear on the underside of the car. And they found that, on both cars, the skids on the underside of those cars were not in compliance with the rules.
Hamilton and Leclerc have both been referred to the stewards. They will now investigate the matter and could punish both drivers if they are found to have been driving cars which do not comply with F1 rules.
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An official FIA document, signed by Bauer read: "A physical floor and a plank wear inspection was carried out on car numbers 16 [Leclerc] and 44 [Hamilton]. The skids located in the area -825 ≥ XR ≥ - 1025 are found to be not in compliance with Article 3.5.9e) of the 2023 Formula One Technical Regulations. I am referring this mater to the stewards for their consideration."
It is not yet known what the outcome of the investigation will be. But cars which fail post-race technical checks are often disqualified altogether, meaning Hamilton could be stripped of his podium place and the 18 points which came with it.
Disqualification for Hamilton would push Lando Norris up to second place and Carlos Sainz onto the podium. If both drivers have their results taken away, then Logan Sargeant would rise to 10th place and score his first ever F1 world championship point.
Speaking after the race, Hamilton had been very pleased with his result and also paid tribute to Red Bull and Verstappen who managed to beat him again. "I came in fighting, felt great, and really happy with this result," he told reporters.
"We have to congratulate these guys. This team has just done an incredible job all year long, just dominated and Max has been really flawless. We were catching him towards the end and I was hopeful, but we needed some more laps. The team did an amazing job this weekend, so much work to bring this upgrade here."
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