Hamilton Reacts To 'Disappointing' Disqualification After 2023 United States Grand Prix
F1Monday, 23 October 2023 at 13:00
Updated at Monday, 23 October 2023 at 14:23
Mercedes F1 driver Lewis Hamilton and the team's principal, Toto Wolff, share their thoughts after being disqualified from the 2023 United States Grand Prix.
Lewis has had a pretty strong weekend at one of his favorite circuits, Circuit of the Americas. The Mercedes driver had two great Qualifications when he placed third for both Sprint and the main race on Sunday.
The seven-time World Champion then finished second in the Sprint Race and came very close to beating Max Verstappen during the race on Sunday in the battle for the top step on the podiums.
The Mercedes driver closed the gap to Flying Dutchman to almost one second in the last lap of the race, but in the end, it was just not enough.
Nevertheless, the result was still great for Mercedes in the battle for second place in the Drivers' Championship and would allow Lewis Hamilton to close the gap to second Sergio Perez to 19 points.
However, it was announced by FIA a few hours after the race that cars 44 (Lewis Hamilton) and 16 (Charles Leclerc) did not pass technical inspection after the race and were disqualified as a consequence. Hamilton told the media after the race:
"It is, of course, disappointing to be disqualified post-race, but that doesn’t take away from the progress we’ve made this weekend."
Even though the Brit expressed disappointment with the final result after disqualification, he focused on the positives of the race. The Mercedes car had improved its pace after upgrades.
"We had a good pace, and I was feeling great in the car. It was tough racing those around me as they were so quick, but we can be happy with many things. I feel positive as we’re moving forward, even if reflecting on it, we could have possibly won."
The fact is, Hamilton is very close to hitting 200 career podiums. Consequently, losing one podium does not move the seven-time World Champion as much as improvement in the car and a chance to compete for the eighth title next season.
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