Hamilton’s Early Exit Adds to Weekend Woes at US Grand Prix

Hamilton’s Early Exit Adds to Weekend Woes at US Grand Prix

Lewis Hamilton’s challenging weekend at the Circuit of the Americas ended in disappointment as the seven-time Formula 1 World Champion retired early from the United States Grand Prix. After a poor qualifying performance, his race came to an abrupt halt on the third lap when his Mercedes spun off track at Turn 19.

The incident mirrored the struggles of his teammate, George Russell, who also lost control at the same corner during Q3 qualifying. Despite making a strong start from 17th on the grid and climbing to 12th by the end of the first lap, Hamilton’s hopes of a comeback were short-lived. As he attempted to maintain control through Turn 19, the rear of his W15 got loose, and he ended up stuck in the gravel. With no way to rejoin the race, Hamilton climbed out of the cockpit, visibly frustrated.

The race was temporarily neutralized under the Safety Car as Hamilton made his way behind the barriers. Before withdrawing, he apologized to his team for losing control. Reflecting on his early retirement, Hamilton later shared that he wasn’t even pushing hard at the time of the spin.

“I had a great start and felt good. By Turn 1, it was the best start I’ve had in a long time,” he told reporters. “At that point, I wasn’t pushing – just trying to settle into the race and bring the tyres up to temperature.”

Hamilton revealed that he struggled with unexpected handling issues throughout the weekend. “The car started bouncing, and the rear end just came around. It was the same thing that happened to George yesterday,” he said, referring to Russell’s crash at the same corner during qualifying. “I had something similar in FP1, spinning at Turn 3 – a place where I’ve never spun before in all my years here.”

Hamilton acknowledged that these difficulties could be linked to the team’s recent upgrades. Russell had reverted to an older-spec car following his qualifying crash and was faring better during the race. “George switched back to the old car, and he’s looking good out there, so maybe the new upgrade is causing some issues,” Hamilton noted.

The British driver expressed frustration over the unpredictability of the car’s behavior, suggesting the spin was inevitable at some point. “Even if it didn’t happen on that lap, I think it would have occurred on another. The bouncing was making the car hard to control,” he admitted.

Hamilton emphasized that Mercedes would thoroughly investigate the issue. “We’ll dive into the data after today and figure out what’s going on,” he added.

Hamilton’s DNF (Did Not Finish) in Austin marks another setback in what has been a challenging season for both him and Mercedes. Though the race weekend began with promise after his solid performance at the start, the handling problems with the upgraded W15 ultimately proved costly. The team will now focus on gathering as much data as possible to understand the root cause of the issues and determine whether the new upgrades are to blame.

With only a few races left in the season, Hamilton and Mercedes will be keen to solve these problems quickly as they aim to end the year on a high note. The setback in Austin, however, underscores the challenges that still lie ahead for the team as they continue to battle reliability and performance inconsistencies.