Perez Earns Massive Boost In Championship Race Thanks To Hamilton's Disqualification

Sergio Perez saw his chances of finishing second in the 2023 Formula One World Drivers' Championship receive a major boost after the 2023 United States Grand Prix.

The race weekend at the Circuit of the Americas was not looking good for the Mexican driver, who entered the weekend with a 30-point lead in the F1 World Drivers' Championship over Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton.

After the British driver finished second in the Sprint, while the Mexican got only four points for his fifth-place finish, Hamilton closed the gap to 27 points, getting within striking distance ahead of the feature race.

And once again, the 2023 United States Grand Prix race was a successful one for the seven-time World Champion, who seemingly lost his advantage over Red Bull's Max Verstappen and McLaren's Lando Norris early in the race, but then made up for it thanks to last stint on the medium tyres.

As a result, Hamilton finished the race in second place, only two seconds behind the Flying Dutchman, who crossed the finish line first for his 15th win in 2023 and 50th F1 win in his career.

With Perez finishing only fifth, the British driver would cut the lead by another eight points, after earning 18 points in the race, while his opponent managed to get only 10. That would see Hamilton's deficit to Perez decrease to only 19 points ahead of the 2023 Mexico City Grand Prix.

However, soon after the race, surprising news came from the FIA's office, as Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc were both disqualified for having excessive wear on their car's skid blocks.

That meant that the British driver lost all of his 18 points, while Perez improved to fourth place, earning himself two more points. As a result, the difference between the two drivers is not 19, but 39 points ahead of the race at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.

The massive boost comes at a very good time for Perez, who is fighting to keep his seat in Red Bull for the 2024 season, with many rumours suggesting that it may be the second-place finish that would keep the Mexican driver in the team.