Lewis Hamilton looked on of course an unlikely and long-awaited win at the US GP on Sunday as he was pushed to the lead by Max Verstappen’s long pit-stop, despite the double world champion’s doubles. Red Bull fought back for victory; “I gave it everything,” said the Englishman
Last updated: 10/24/22 12:16 am
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Lewis Hamilton admits he’s ‘sorry’ for not being able to win Mercedes at the US GP, despite stressing the difficulty of defending against Max Verstappen
Lewis Hamilton admits he’s ‘sorry’ for not being able to win Mercedes at the US GP, despite stressing the difficulty of defending against Max Verstappen
Lewis Hamilton has sent a message of defiance after painfully missing his first win of the season at the United States GP, insisting he is “still here” and ready to take Mercedes “to the top” once they can. finished with Red Bull.
Hamilton looked of course for an unlikely, and long-awaited, win on Sunday as he was propelled into the lead by Max Verstappen’s long-piston stunner, despite the doubles world champion of Red Bull fought back to first overtake Charles Leclerc in Turn 12, and then Hamilton with six laps remaining.
The last seven-time world champion was just a duck sitting with Red Bull’s speed and tire advantage – especially in straight lines – ahead of Mercedes, and Sunday saw Verstappen equal the record. record for most wins in a season (13) and Red Bull won their fifth constructor’s championship.
However, Hamilton has received a lot of positives from just having a chance to win and making an optimistic statement about the Formula 1 rematch.
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The battle for P1 continues as Verstappen battles to take the lead from Hamilton at the United States Grand Prix
“We got closer today so we’re really proud of everyone,” he said Sky Sports F1. “Sorry I couldn’t win, I gave it absolutely everything.
“What I’m going to do from today is we’ve got good pace – and I’m still here. I know that when they build the car, I’ll put it first, so we just have to keep going. work.”
Hamilton added that leading the race at the end “felt great” and that “for a second I thought maybe we could hold it.”
But he explained: “I could see that he was closing a second round and I couldn’t really answer it for a while.
“Then he came back from very far in a straight line, I think they were 10kph faster than us anyway on a normal straight line and at the end of the line my mirror vibrated so much I couldn’t see him. where he is so it’s very difficult to protect.”
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Hamilton overtakes Sebastian Vettel to take the lead at the United States Grand Prix
Hamilton, meanwhile, is running out of time to extend his all-season F1 championship record – 16 so far. There are three races left in 2022, in Mexico this weekend, Brazil and Abu Dhabi.
“Given everything that happened last year in the last race and then all that’s been going on lately with all the news and everything… a win would be a win. huge for all of us and well deserved,” he said.
However, he noted during the press conference that Mercedes must be “realistic” with their expectations.
Can Hamilton take the Merc to the top? | ‘We understand where we go wrong’
Hamilton’s 2023 title vow that he will take Mercedes “to the top” depends on his team’s work over the winter, with the Silver Arrows set to change their car’s ‘DNA’ already working underperformance by 2022.
Team boss Toto Wolff optimistic about their chances
“We now understand better where we went wrong with the car,” he said Sky Sports F1.
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Mercedes principal Toto Wolff reflects on the race after Hamilton finished in P2 in Austin
“You can almost trace back to a silly decision last October when we thought we could ride on deck but you can’t.
“So those are small hamster steps and as long as the trajectory is up I think we’re on a good path.
“We’re going to have 14% more time in the wind tunnel than Red Bull next year and that’s going to put them back a little bit.”
He added on the US GP: “The pace could be two tenths and that’s what we were missing at the end but credit to Red Bull, they’ve done really well all year and it’s been really strong so they beat the builders” today’s championship is what they deserve. “
