Still without a podium
With his fourth-place finish in Austin, Lewis Hamilton now leads the unique list of Ferrari drivers with the longest streak without a podium since joining the team, reaching 19 races and surpassing Didier Pironi, who stopped at 18. This is certainly not how Lewis Hamilton imagined making history with Ferrari, yet there are some positives even in his fourth consecutive top-four finish this season: “Considering we didn’t bring upgrades to make the car fully competitive, the team did a really great job this week. I hope everyone in the factory is happy. We’re on the right path, and I’ll keep pushing to get onto the podium.”
The battle with Leclerc
One of the most intense moments of the United States GP for Lewis Hamilton was his attempt to overtake Charles Leclerc on lap 22, while the Monegasque struggled on Soft tires. Charles Leclerc held his ground and defended the position, ultimately blocking Hamilton’s attack. Ferrari later resolved the internal battle by calling Charles Leclerc in for a tire change.
“Races are like that,” Lewis Hamilton commented to Sky UK without showing any bitterness, while acknowledging that he didn’t have the optimal strategy: “I think Charles had the better strategy. I was roughly at his pace, but then I came out of the pit stop 10 seconds behind, which was too much to recover. From that perspective, it’s a bit frustrating; the strategy penalized me.” – the British driver pointed out following the race which was held at the Circuit of the Americas.
Lewis Hamilton is aware he needs to make up ground: “Of course, I’d like to be further ahead. Finally, I feel really comfortable with the car, and I think there’s still room for improvement. We can definitely get more, especially from my side, because qualifying didn’t go as I hoped, and the start wasn’t exceptional.” – the seven-time Formula 1 world champion concluded.
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