Lewis Hamilton was likely just one lap away from joining Charles Leclerc on the podium at the United States Grand Prix, as FormulaUno.it reports. The seven-time world champion missed out on a top-three finish after a Virtual Safety Car was deployed by race control to clear the Cadillac driven by Valtteri Bottas near the end of the race. That neutralisation robbed the British driver of precious laps to complete his charge on Max Verstappen, who crossed the finish line with a mere one-second margin.
Despite the unfortunate timing of the caution, the Ferrari driver focused his post-race reflections on the handling issues that plagued him through the opening two stints at Austin. When asked about the impact of the VSC, Hamilton refused to dwell on it, noting that the race had already been severely compromised earlier in the afternoon when he bled significant time.
Charles got a second place, which proves we have good competitiveness. I hope that, ahead of Mexico, we will be able to correct the mistakes made in defining the setup.
"It’s all talk about 'if I had done this or that'," Hamilton explained. "The VSC wasn’t ideal, but I had the feeling that the race was already compromised during the first two stints, when I lost so much time. I couldn't get the car to turn, especially in the low-speed sections—think of turn 1, 11, 12, 13, and 15, there was enormous understeer; I tried to modify the settings on the fly…"
Desperate to cure the machine's stubborn behavior, Hamilton requested more front wing load during his pit stops, and the final stint finally delivered the desired balance. "Arriving at the final stint, I believe we found a better balance, but it's what we should have had from the beginning," he underlined, praising the team's execution with strategy and pit stops.
Now sitting just one point behind George Russell in the standings amid a fierce fight involving Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc, Hamilton pointed squarely at his ongoing inability to nail the setup of the SF-26. "In the last five races or so I have lost a lot of points and I think the problem is linked to the setup: I can't perfect it," he admitted, adding that his actual driving has been solid despite the machine's limitations.
Even with the setup headache, Ferrari showed encouraging speed on a weekend that marked the debut of a new update package. "The team did a great job introducing upgrades," Hamilton concluded. "Charles got a second place, which proves we have good competitiveness. I hope that, ahead of Mexico, we will be able to correct the mistakes made in defining the setup."
