Lewis Hamilton came within a few tenths of an Austin podium, but the Ferrari driver believes his chances were effectively compromised much earlier in the United States Grand Prix. A late Safety Car intervention also played against the seven-time world champion, helping Max Verstappen remain ahead as Lewis Hamilton’s recovery gathered momentum in the closing laps.
After the race at the Circuit of the Americas, Lewis Hamilton explained that the decisive problem was not Ferrari’s strategy but the balance of his SF-26 during the opening two stints. By the time the car finally began to behave as he wanted on the hard tyres, the Briton felt too much ground had already been lost.
Lewis Hamilton says opening stints cost him the Austin podium
Lewis Hamilton was left frustrated after coming within touching distance of the podium in Austin. The Ferrari driver ultimately had to remain behind Max Verstappen, with an unfortunate Virtual Safety Car slowing his recovery during the final laps just as his pace on the hard tyres appeared particularly strong. The way his position developed through the Grand Prix can also be explored through the F1 Race Position & Progression Tracker.
Speaking to reporters in Texas after the race, Lewis Hamilton said the difficult opening two stints had done the most damage to his chances of finishing inside the top three.
“Yes, the VSC wasn’t ideal,” the Ferrari number 44 admitted. “But I think I already had the feeling that the race was lost in the first two stints. I lost so much time during those phases, but the problem was that I couldn’t get the car to turn, particularly at low speed. Especially at Turn 1, Turn 11, Turn 12, Turn 13, Turn 14 and Turn 15, there was huge understeer and the car would simply go one way.”
“I was adjusting the settings and when we got to the final stint, I think we had got closer to the right balance, but we should have started with that setup from the beginning. So I learned a lot; the team did a great job with the pit stops and the strategy,” Lewis Hamilton added, drawing a line under the recent controversy surrounding his strategic “rebellions”.
The balance difficulties were not entirely new during the Austin weekend. Lewis Hamilton had already been searching for answers during practice, when he questioned the six-tenth gap to Charles Leclerc over Ferrari team radio and worked with the team to understand where he was losing performance.
Setup problems become Lewis Hamilton’s main concern
With Kimi Antonelli now “virtually” champion, attention is increasingly focused on the battle for second place in the championship. Lewis Hamilton is now only one point away from that position, making the points lost over recent races particularly significant.
“I’ve lost a lot of points in the last five races and I think the problem really comes from the setup and the fact that I haven’t perfected it anymore,” Lewis Hamilton explained. “It’s something I really need to work on. I think that’s exactly where I’ve lost ground.”
“In terms of performance, I feel I’ve driven well. Today I felt the final stint was very good; there was nothing I could do about the first two. But there’s definitely a lot to learn and take away from it.”
There was nevertheless encouragement for Ferrari. Lewis Hamilton highlighted the work done on the car’s most recent development package, while Charles Leclerc converted Ferrari’s progress into second place. The Austin weekend had marked the introduction of four key aerodynamic changes to the Ferrari SF-26.
“It looks like we’ve done a great job introducing the latest upgrade. Charles finished second, so the team put in a good performance. Hopefully, when we go to Mexico, we’ll be able to improve some of the areas where we got things wrong, fundamentally in terms of the setup.”
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