P1racenews AI automatic summary:
Mercedes insiders have admitted that the plank wear problem that led to Lewis Hamilton’s United States Grand Prix disqualification would have impacted his F1 car’s performance.
after the race on other teams’ cars, but no further breaches were found. Both Hamilton and Leclerc were disqualified from the race as a result of the plank wear violation. The exclusions came as a shock to the paddock and highlighted an old F1 regulation that hadn’t been in the headlines for a while. Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff accepted the decision and acknowledged the team’s setup choices on a sprint weekend with limited practice time as a challenge. He also emphasized the need for the team to learn from the mistake and come back stronger in the next race. While Mercedes had shown improved competitiveness with a floor upgrade in Austin, it remains to be seen if the modified floor played a role in the plank wear issue. It is more likely that the limited running and lack of setup time, combined with the bumpy track surface at COTA, contributed to the problem. The plank wear violation was in breach of Article 3.5.9 e) of the 2023 Formula 1 technical regulations, and both Hamilton and Leclerc were found to have excessive wear on the skids on the underside of their cars.
Source: Crash
