The 2023 Formula One season had witnessed Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton’s most promising weekend so far, only to culminate in a highly unfortunate turn of events. In a weekend where they presented their most formidable challenge to Red Bull and Max Verstappen, a disqualification marred the conclusion, an infraction of a long-standing regulation – one that had endured nearly three decades. Ferrari, too, found themselves ensnared in this regulation’s web.
The outcome was a study in contrasts. Red Bull, upon scrutiny, emerged unscathed, having navigated clear of this peculiar pitfall, allowing Verstappen’s well-deserved victory to remain untouched. Conversely, Lewis Hamilton, fresh from a closely-fought chase with Max Verstappen in his revamped Mercedes, found himself stripped of his hard-fought second place at the United States GP. A similar fate befell Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, who saw his sixth-place finish evaporate into thin air.
Both teams found themselves on the wrong side of a technical regulation pertaining to the thickness of the undercarriage plank assembly, whereby a minimum thickness of 9mm was permissible after a session of wear and tear. This occurrence cast a shadow over an otherwise markedly improved weekend for Mercedes. Despite their misfortune, it was not without a few contributing factors that nearly saw the dominant world champion, Max Verstappen, suffer an exceedingly rare defeat.
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