Following their shocking disqualification from the United States Grand Prix on Sunday, Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc jointly issued a mysterious message on social media.
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While initially blaming Mercedes’ strategy for his failure to cross the finish line first, Hamilton finished in second position behind reigning Red Bull champion Max Verstappen after briefly appearing as though he may snap his 686-day Grand Prix winless streak.
However, four hours after sharing the podium with Verstappen and Lando Norris of McLaren, Hamilton was stripped of his championship for using an illegal floor.
His Mercedes failed a post-race inspection because the bottom plank had deteriorated and was no longer in compliance with FIA rules.
The FIA also judged Ferrari driver Leclerc guilty of the same offense, and his sixth-place finish in Texas was voided hours after the race had completed.
The stars merely wrote the word “Mood” as the picture’s description, expressing their great regret at being disqualified.
‘It is of course disappointing to be disqualified post-race but that doesn’t take away from the progress we’ve made this weekend,’ Hamilton said in the Mercedes press release when speaking about the dramatic decision.
‘Set-up choices on a sprint weekend are always a challenge with just one hour of free practice, and even more so at a rough circuit like COTA and running a fresh package,’ Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff continued.
In the end, none of that matters because the rules are set in stone and others have done things correctly where we have erred.
“We need to take it in stride, learn from it, and return stronger next weekend.”
Prior to the final three races of the season in Brazil, Las Vegas, and Abu Dhabi, Hamilton and Leclerc will try to recover from the poor outcome at the Mexican Grand Prix this weekend.
