British F1 driver Lewis Hamilton lost his second-place finish at the United States Grand Prix after being disqualified.
His Mercedes failed a physical floor and plank wear inspection following Sunday’s race at the Circuit of the Americas racetrack in Texas.
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc was found guilty of the same offence and also disqualified from his sixth-place finish.
In Mercedes’ post-race press release, Hamilton, 38, said: “It is of course disappointing to be disqualified post-race, but that doesn’t take away from the progress we’ve made this weekend.”
Mercedes team principal, Toto Wolff, admitted there was “no wriggle room in the rules”.
“We need to take it on the chin, do the learning, and come back stronger next weekend,” he said.
Hamilton’s disqualification meant fellow British driver Lando Norris was promoted to second behind race-winner Max Verstappen.
