Explained: how Red Bull avoided Austin mistake that got Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton disqualified. How Red Bull avoided USGP error that got Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc excluded.

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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