Wolff licks his wounds after Lewis’s disqualification

TOTO WOLFF claims Mercedes will “come back stronger” after the embarrassment of Lewis Hamilton’s disqualification from the US Grand Prix.
Hamilton was stripped of second place hours after Sunday’s race in Austin,
Texas, for racing on illegal ground.

Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc in sixth place was sent off for the same violation.
There are now doubts about the effectiveness of what appears to be a transformative upgrade for Mercedes – a new floor, among other things.

For the first time this season, Hamilton drove a competition machine, despite the fact that the board underneath him was worn below the minimum 9mm mark – allowing his car to dive lower to the ground and thus creating greater downforce and ultimately more speed – question that math.

“No wonder they’re so fast,” said one competitor in the paddock as the stewards made their decision at 1.20am UK time yesterday morning.

Mercedes has accepted this decision and will not appeal against it. Their mitigation, however, was that the Circuit of the Americas’ bumpy course took them by surprise. There’s no denying that the tarmac was rough and the teams had to adjust the car’s height. The failure to do so fully meant that contact with the track had worn down Hamilton’s boards to the point that the marshals deemed it illegal during their post-race inspection.

Team principal Mercedes Wolff said:
“Choosing settings during a sprint weekend is always a challenge when there is only one hour of free practice.

But others understood where we went wrong and that there was no room for change in the rules. We have to lead, learn and come back stronger next weekend in Mexico.