Lewis Hamilton shows his true feelings with Instagram ‘mood’ post
Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton was disqualified after finishing second in Austin.
Lewis Hamilton has posted a tongue-in-cheek picture on Instagram of himself and Charles Leclerc, following their disqualification from the US Grand Prix on Sunday.
Both drivers saw their results, with Hamilton taking second place and Leclerc finishing sixth, removed after the FIA found their cars non-compliant after the race, with their under-floor planks having fallen under the minimum thickness required.
While the wear on that part of the car is likely to have been caused by the bumps around the Circuit of The Americas, Hamilton posted a picture of himself and Leclerc looking stony-faced on social media, with the simple caption of ‘mood’.
Lewis Hamilton posts ‘mood’ picture, and Charles Leclerc shares it
Hamilton posted the picture on his Instagram, with the collaborative post also being done with Leclerc, making it show up on the Ferrari driver’s profile as well as he accepted it.
Both drivers would understandably be frustrated by the outcome, with theirs being two of four cars scrutineered after the race for that particular part, along with Max Verstappen and Lando Norris.
Hamilton in particular came close to scoring victory at Austin on Sunday, finishing only two seconds behind Verstappen at the chequered flag having been catching him at pace in the closing laps.
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Explained: Why Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc were disqualified from US Grand Prix
The planks underneath F1 cars are only allowed to accrue approximately 1mm worth of wear throughout a race, with ground effect cars performing better in theory when closer to the ground.
Both Mercedes and Ferrari reasoned to the FIA that the bumps at COTA likely played a part in the excessive wear Hamilton and Leclerc experienced, along with a lack of preparation time with the US Grand Prix having been a Sprint event, limiting their practice time to one hour instead of the usual three.
“It is of course disappointing to be disqualified post-race,” Hamilton said after the race, “but that doesn’t take away from the progress we’ve made this weekend.
“We had good pace and I was feeling great in the car. It was tough racing those around me as they were so quick, but we can be happy with many things.
“I feel positive as we’re moving forward, even if reflecting on it we could have possibly won.”
Read next: Mercedes and Ferrari give same reasons for technical breach as drivers disqualified
