Hamilton can take example from Leclerc: 'I understand the disqualification'

Charles Leclerc was surprised to be disqualified after the United States Grand Prix. The Monegasque already had a difficult race and ultimately went home without any points. Yet Leclerc said that he did not benefit from the lower ride height.

Like Mercedes, Ferrari also lost points in the United States Grand Prix. The racing team had chosen a certain ride height at the Circuit of the Americas that turned out to be just a little too low for the plank under the floor. For both drivers, the plank had worn down too much, which ultimately led to the car being found illegal.

Leclerc better loser than Hamilton

"We did not expect that because the Friday we did it and we had no wear. Very, very little on Saturday. We were really confident that Sunday's race would be fine. But when we are speaking about such small numbers, anything could have made a difference. A kerb-ridden a bit more in an aggressive way or whatsoever. But in the end, rules are rules, and we need to respect them. So I understand we had to be disqualified," Leclerc told Sky Sports.

Leclerc sends a different message from Lewis Hamilton. The Brit argued that the disqualification was ridiculous and especially bad for the sport. Leclerc backed the FIA's decision but was keen to stress that he did not benefit from the lower ride height.

"Trust me, this doesn't give us any kind of performance because we are speaking about numbers that you can’t calculate. Maybe I went wide on one kerb, went a bit too far, and that's enough to make that difference. It's nothing worrying in terms of performance. We haven't seen a better performance because of that, not at all. It's just a shame because we go home from the weekend without any points apart from Saturday's points," Leclerc concluded.

While Leclerc is frustrated about the penalty, competitors are mostly surprised that Leclerc and Russell's teammates were not checked. Verstappen, for instance, stated in Mexico that the ride height between two teammates will not differ much, with the same outcome therefore likely at the test. Lando Norris shared that view and argued that more cars simply needed to be checked.