Lewis Hamilton’s dire United States Grand Prix weekend ended when he spun into a gravel trap on the second lap of the race.
The Mercedes driver started 17th on the hard tyre compound, but made good progress on the first lap. But the car snapped away from him at turn 19 on the second lap.
“I had a great start, obviously shot up the inside and got up to 12th,” he told the official F1 channel. “And at that point, it was only the second lap, so I’m not flat out and not pushing particularly, just trying to manage the tyres and the car started bouncing on the way in and then it just lost all out of the rear and it just went around on me.”
“I’ve never spun in the race before, not that I remember at least, and if I have it can only be once, maybe, before in all these years,” he added. “So definitely frustrating but I do know that it’s not that I wasn’t focussed or anything, it was just unfortunate.”
Mercedes’ press release quoted Hamilton saying the team “measured a large gust of wind, up to 40 kph, as I turned in which likely didn’t help.”
It capped a miserable weekend for the seven-times world champion in Austin. Hamilton, who has just five rounds left at Mercedes before joining Ferrari, started near the back after being eliminated in the first round of qualifying yesterday.
When the weekend began Hamilton looked quick enough to challenge for pole position for the sprint race. However he had to back off when he encountered yellow flags approaching turn 12.
Hamilton reported a problem with his car at the beginning of the sprint race and was only able to gain a single place from his starting position of seventh. Qualifying for the grand prix then brought more frustration as he failed to make the cut for Q2, consigning him to start at the back of the grid.
His team mate George Russell crashed in qualifying at the same corner where Hamilton’s race ended. He started from the pit lane after the team made changes to his car’s set-up, and recovered to finish sixth.
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2024 United States Grand Prix
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