Mercedes F1’s Lewis Hamilton admits there were times during the American Grand Prix race when he thought he could win.
The race was dominated by race leader Max Verstappen (Red Bull) but a slow second pit stop dropped him to third behind Charles Leclerc before Lewis Hamilton took the lead in the second half.
However, after passing Charles Leclerc, Max Verstappen caught up with Lewis Hamilton and passed him with six laps to go to win the race.
Lewis Hamilton is yet to win a race in 2022 despite coming close on several occasions.
“It was great to be within range with Max at certain points in the race,” said Lewis Hamilton.
“I really didn’t know what the pace would be like today. I think he controlled the pace in the first stint and it was very difficult to follow him. But in the second phase of the race, after safety I was able to follow him and did a great strategic job today.”
“We were aggressive. I’m really proud of the team. I think everyone worked hard to make the improvements here this weekend.”
“I thought we could hold the lead for a little while, but I think the extra medium tires they had were a bit too strong compared to us.
Mercedes F1 team principal Toto Wolff also thought Lewis Hamilton had a chance of winning but admitted it was unlikely after seeing Max Verstappen’s pace in the clean air. .
“At some point, when they[Leclerc et Verstappen]were six seconds behind him and I felt they couldn’t do enough, I felt[Hamilton peut gagner]“said Toto. Wolff said.
“Lewis was at a disadvantage with the tires on the hard, the mediums were gone, but we still had the potential to win and at this stage it seemed achievable.”
“But after Max passed Charles and he couldn’t defend himself, I was just waiting for that to happen.”
Category: F1 / Lewis Hamilton / mercedes / United States F1 Grand Prix
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