Hamilton loses 8 km/h in the snake compared to Verstappen
The first sector of the American circuit is the most demanding for the cars, highlighting those with better aero-mechanical balance. Before turn 1, top speeds across teams were similar, although McLaren, despite a lower rear wing, appeared to experience higher drag. During braking, George Russell and Max Verstappen managed oversteer caused by the wind.
Front-end load transfer made the rear lighter, causing it to lose grip the moment steering input was applied. On corner exit, Lewis Hamilton struggled to manage rear traction, resulting in oversteer. As shown in the throttle graph, the British driver, who opened the throttle earlier than rivals, had to partially lift, reaching full throttle slightly later than the others.
Biggest issues between turns 5 and 9
However, the SF-25’s most significant problems occurred between turns 5 and 9, the final part of the “serpent” section. In this high-speed section, Lewis Hamilton was on average 8 km/h slower than the reigning world champion. He tried to keep more throttle open to carry speed through the corners, but small lateral slides prevented him from being fully effective.
Targeting turn 11 for straighter throttle application
Maranello had to adopt a compromise setup to stabilize the car in both sector one and three. The stiffness level was set medium-high to optimize aerodynamic performance, at the cost of traction and combined speed. At turn 7, where drivers brake while steering, Lewis Hamilton lost up to 10 km/h compared to Oscar Piastri due to rear tires at their limit.
To reduce traction loss, Lewis Hamilton braked earlier to get on the throttle with straighter wheels. Despite this, he remained slow exiting the chicane at turns 8 and 9. In the hairpin leading to the long straight, the four analyzed drivers chose different distances relative to the apex. Max Verstappen, fastest through the middle of the corner, traveled a longer path but maintained a higher average speed. Conversely, Lewis Hamilton aimed for a tighter apex with a “V-style” trajectory, trying to apply throttle with minimal steering angle to avoid excessive rotation on corner exit.
Traction deficit costs Hamilton three-tenths in 300 meters
In the final slower sector of the American track, Verstappen made a difference with a different approach, delaying the apex to gain on braking in the RB21. Lewis Hamilton again struggled to manage the SF-25, which lacked combined grip, suffering understeer at the apex of turn 15 and oversteer on exit. A similar, though less pronounced, problem occurred at turn 13, where he struggled to transfer power to the track. These two errors cost him approximately three-tenths of a second over just 300 meters compared to Verstappen.
Lando Norris, on the other hand, suffered oversteer exiting turn 13, which ultimately cost him a shot at pole position. Throttle graphs show that he had to lift significantly on exit. This mistake cost him around one-tenth of a second, roughly matching his gap to Max Verstappen’s Red Bull at the end of the lap.
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