Lewis Hamilton had a reasonably uneventful race at america Grand Prix till the ultimate lap, when an unidentified downside price him 4 seconds and put him beneath menace from Oscar Piastri.
After getting an excellent begin that allowed him to maneuver forward of George Russell whereas protecting Piastri at bay on the skin of Flip 1, Hamilton spent a while as a privileged spectator to the battle between his team-mate Charles Leclerc and Lando Norris for second place.
Nevertheless, because the race methods unfolded, the seven-time world champion fell again right into a form of no man’s land, positioned between that duo forward and Piastri behind.
At first of the ultimate lap, Hamilton was 9 seconds behind his team-mate and 5 seconds forward of the Australian. Then, out of the blue, the Ferrari driver started shedding tempo, tenths of a second at a time because the corners glided by – till the hole to Piastri dropped under two seconds. Lastly, simply because the McLaren had the Ferrari inside putting distance, Hamilton crossed the end line with solely a 1.1-second benefit. When requested after the race by worldwide media, together with Motorsport.com, whether or not he had suffered a puncture, Hamilton replied:
“I do not actually know. I used to be in Flip 5, and it felt like I hit one thing. Swiftly, I had large understeer, and I assumed it was a puncture.”
Lewis Hamilton in parc ferme after the US Grand Prix
Photograph by: Zak Mauger / LAT Pictures through Getty Pictures
“I braked at Flip 11, and the automobile simply would not cease. I assumed, ‘Rattling, what is going on on?’ In the long run, I managed to carry on by means of the ultimate corners, however I had large understeer. I assumed the entrance wing was damaged or that one thing had occurred to a tyre. It was actually shut with Piastri.”
Past this incident, which in the end had no actual penalties, america Grand Prix weekend was maybe one among Hamilton’s most full of the season – he equalled his greatest grand prix results of the yr on Sunday – regardless of nonetheless missing the tempo to genuinely combat for the rostrum, whether or not within the dash or on race day.
“There’s clearly a optimistic pattern transferring in the precise route – I really feel far more snug within the automobile. I am undoubtedly going to take a critical take a look at all of this over the following few days to attempt to perceive how we are able to get extra out of the automobile and put it in a barely higher place.”
Further reporting by Stuart Codling
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