Charles Leclerc was disqualified from the United States Grand Prix of Formula 1 after finishing sixth, due to a Ferrari’s underdimensioned flat bottom plank following high wear. A situation that the driver accepts, acknowledging that rules were infringed regardless.
According to the championship’s official website, the Monegasque was asked if there is a risk of disqualification for similar reasons to happen again. In response, he stated: ‘It’s a very difficult question to answer, especially on a Sprint weekend, because ultimately you only have one session to set up the car’s ride height, and when you finish FP1 we are nowhere. The car wasn’t touching at all, then obviously with a lot of fuel, etc., then you get to the race and you are disqualified by the smallest margin possible’.
In any case, Leclerc accepted the punishment: ‘Rules are rules and they are written in black and white, so it is completely fair to have been disqualified. That’s life. Now we need to understand what we could have done better to anticipate this, even though in a situation like this it is very difficult because in FP1 we had no signs of touching anywhere, which makes it very difficult to predict for Sunday’.
