2023-10-23 00:33:02
Carlos Sainz achieved the podium in the United States GP at dawn. Hours after the race ended, Lewis Hamilton and Cherles Leclerc were disqualified for not having, in the post-race checks, reached the minimum height of nine millimeters on the resin sheet that goes in the central part of the floor in all the races. single-seaters.
Although both vehicles crossed the finish line in second -Hamilton- and sixth position -Leclerc-, respectively, the FIA considered, after subjecting both cars to a random control, that they violated article 3.5.9 e) of the technical regulations. of the competition. In this way, the FIA has decided to disqualify both cars from the race, which has allowed Lando Norris to inherit second position and Carlos Sainz rises to the third place on the podium.
According to the FIA, Hamilton’s Mercedes and Leclerc’s Ferrari did not comply with the thickness of the sliding blocks (the boards under the car) established by the standard. Given that neither car nor the other met the minimum height in the central resin plate on the floor of the car, as they did not have the millimeter of thickness required after the race, the organization has considered that both were failing to comply with the established regulations. .
With this decision, Carlso Sainz rises to third place and has 15 more points than his teammate and is getting closer and closer to Fernando Alonso in the general classification, who failed to score points in the American race.
Verstappen adds and continues
Max Verstappen was in charge on the track. Neither starting sixth, nor fighting with drivers like Hamilton, nor the track limits that caused so many problems prevented the Dutchman’s 50th victory in Formula 1. The comeback of the three-time world champion was completed in the middle of the race, which led to The fight to complete the podium was the most exciting. Lewis Hamilton, who fought until the end, finished second but left a great lesson in pride, with Lando Norris third and wanting more.
Fourth place in the race went to Carlos Sainz, who stopped inventing at Ferrari. The Italian team punished Charles Leclerc with its usual stupidity with the strategy: he was the only one to make a single pit stop and that cost him to fall from the ‘top 5’. And that was starting from the pole. Fernando Alonso, who started from the pitlane with the car modified to return to the Qatar specification because the evolution turned out to be a complete mistake, not even that. After completing a great comeback that allowed him to fight for the points, which Lance Stroll did achieve, he ended up abandoning. The best news for Aston Martin is that this race is now history and that they have one less left until the end of 2023. McLaren has already overtaken them in the World Championship.
If for any driver getting a pole is great news, for Charles Leclerc it is bad news. This weekend was the 21st on his personal account. and it didn’t even last a curve. Lando Norris did his best to put himself first and seek his first victory, since behind him the world champion, Max Verstappen, gained only one position waiting for what would happen later.
Carlos Sainz’s push lasted just long enough. Ferrari already warned before the race that it was going to be a problem maintaining the pace, and although he gained one position at the beginning, he ended up losing two. He could not hold off Hamilton, whom he had been able to beat at the start, and then Verstappen, who had the podium as his goal.
In fact, the three-time world champion immediately got rid of Leclerc to begin the pursuit of Hamilton and Norris, in an overtaking that caused controversy because the Monegasque had to go off the track since Verstappen took him out in a very aggressive manner. It was not the only job that the stewards had, with Russell, in the middle of the fight for the ‘top 5’ and supporting Sergio Pérez who did nothing but complain that the Briton was constantly going off the track.
Strategy takes center stage
After the first quarter of the race, the drivers who were going to two stops began to enter. It was the big doubt that was going to determine the resolution of the race, since it was not clear if one or two stops was going to be the good strategy. Those from Mercedes, for example, were asked to extend their first entry until lap 24 to try one, but it didn’t go well.
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And Verstappen achieved what has become known as a textbook ‘undercut’. The three-time champion, two stops away, did not need to overtake Hamilton on the track to win second place in the race. It was seen that this strategy, at least a priori, was the right one, since from behind Alonso led to a great comeback from behind that made him get into the fight for the points. It was difficult to read the race at this time, given that several drivers (Leclerc or Russell, for example) tried to reach a stop, while the rest went to two. Ferrari divided his strategy, giving Sainz two stops and Leclerc one.
The one who did not need to look at the strategy was Verstappen. The Dutchman, when he reached exactly the halfway point of the race, put the car in front of Norris to get first. He started sixth and was inevitably on his way to a new victory. Although not without sweating, this time, because he received several warnings that he had crossed the limits of the track.
If seeing Verstappen heading towards another victory was not very newsworthy, it can also be said that Ferrari’s umpteenth mistake with the strategy is already almost tragicomic. This time it was Leclerc’s turn, who was asked if they had to go to plan C or D. «Now can you tell me? “It’s too late!” complained the man on pole, who was left off the podium and out of the ‘top 5’, since he also had to let Sainz pass who was much stronger. He didn’t hesitate to complain about the team orders this time.
The end of the race was strange. With six laps to go, Alonso’s race was over. The Asturian warned that something was wrong with the rear suspension and immediately sank: straight to the pits to abandon. Not in his wildest dreams would Lance Stroll have dreamed of finishing 9th, much less Tsunoda taking two points, one for being 10th and another for the fastest lap.
Hamilton was very close to catching Verstappen, possibly two more laps and perhaps he would have experienced a new fight between old enemies, but the 50th victory in the Dutchman’s personal career was inevitable. The podium was completed by Lando Norris, who settled for a new podium in a race in which he could have won, but it was not his place here either.
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