Lewis Hamilton rues yellow flag after doing ‘more than enough for p...

Lewis Hamilton rues yellow flag after doing ‘more than enough for p…read more

Lewis Hamilton expressed frustration after narrowly missing out on pole position for the sprint race at the United States Grand Prix, blaming the yellow flags caused by a spinning car that disrupted his flying lap.

During SQ3, both Mercedes drivers, Hamilton and George Russell, went out early to set their fastest times in the final qualifying session. Hamilton had been on a much quicker lap than his teammate, but Williams driver Franco Colapinto spun at Turn 12 ahead of him. The incident triggered yellow flags, forcing Hamilton to slow down, ultimately ruining his lap.

“I just got unlucky with the yellow flag, and that’s what it is. I was four-tenths up,” Hamilton said, referring to the significant improvement he had been making. In the end, he qualified seventh, while Russell managed to secure second place on the grid, missing pole by only 0.12 seconds.

Although disappointed by the loss of a potential pole position, Hamilton took comfort in the performance of Mercedes’ upgraded car, which made its debut at the Austin circuit. He emphasized that the team has made noticeable progress, and the new upgrade package appears to be delivering results.

“The good thing is the team’s made a step with the car; the upgrade has clearly worked,” Hamilton explained. He expressed his gratitude to the Mercedes team for their efforts in developing the improvements and getting them ready for the race. “I’m really grateful to everyone back at the factory for all the hard work over this period of time because it’s been a tough slog for everyone to get the upgrade to make sure that they’re working.”

Despite his frustration, Hamilton remained optimistic, noting that he would have another opportunity to compete in the sprint race and continue showing the improvements of the car. “It’s not the end of the day. We got another chance.”

Hamilton also credited his team for making effective adjustments to his car following a high-speed spin during the sole practice session. The changes made a significant difference in how the car handled, and Hamilton noted the immediate improvement. “We did a great job to make changes to the car, and it’s always a bit of a gamble because you don’t know whether or not it’s going to work, the changes that you make,” he said. “You hope they do what you aim to do with them, and as soon as I got out the car, it was like night and day.”

Mercedes’ trackside engineering director, Andrew Shovlin, echoed Hamilton’s frustration, expressing confidence that the British driver had been on track to claim pole position if not for the yellow flag incident. “We can take many positives, but ultimately, we end the day slightly frustrated,” Shovlin remarked. “Lewis was on for a lap that would have been more than enough for P1.”

Shovlin explained that the team’s decision to send both drivers out early was intended to avoid potential yellow flag interruptions later in the session, but unfortunately, Hamilton still fell victim to one.

Despite the setback, both Hamilton and Mercedes remain encouraged by the gains made with the new upgrades, and they look forward to the sprint race as another opportunity to capitalize on the improved performance.