Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton said his team’s strategy cost him his first Formula 1 victory in almost two years at Sunday’s United States Grand Prix.
Hamilton finished in second place in the race, but was ultimately disqualified as his car did not meet regulations.
The depth of the new floor of Hamilton’s Mercedes was assessed as ‘beyond the thresholds outlined in Article 3.5.9 e).’ – stating that the plank cannot wear to a thickness of less than 9 mm.
But before he was officially disqualified from the race, Hamilton was asked whether he thought he should have won his first race since the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 686 days ago if not for the challenge of Mercedes’ compensation strategy.
“Yes,” he said without hesitation. ‘I really think we would have been in a position to fight Max.
Lewis Hamilton blamed his Mercedes team’s strategy for costing him a win before being disqualified
Hamilton finished second, but was disqualified because his car was too low to the ground
“We made our lives a lot harder today than they had to be. There are a lot of areas where we could have been better.”
Mercedes boss Toto Wolff added: ‘At the moment we have mixed feelings because there is the pain of losing a race that we could have won.
Hamilton was given a 10-second swing against Max Verstappen as Mercedes left their star driver in no man’s land as they attempted a one-stop strategy at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin.
Hamilton was less than two seconds behind early leader Lando Norris and five seconds ahead of Verstappen, who only started sixth, as they approached the opening round of pit stops.
But when Verstappen and Norris stopped for fresh rubber on laps 16 and 17 respectively, Hamilton was told to stay out – with an alternative strategy for Verstappen seen as the only way to topple the all-conquering Dutchman. It quickly turned out to be a wrong decision.
When asked if he could complete another five laps on his current set of tyres, Hamilton replied: ‘I’m not sure, man. It’s pretty tough.’
Hamilton then locked up before his race engineer Peter Bonnington was back on the intercom to inform his driver that Verstappen – who had run just three seconds faster than the Briton on new tires – would now likely be looking at him when he finally stopped.
“No, man,” Hamilton shouted as his tires fell off the cliff. “I’m having a hard time here.”
Charles Leclerc’s of Monaco and Scuderia Ferrari also failed post-race checks
Hamilton came in four laps later than Verstappen, with a slow right-front tire change aggravating his problems. When he emerged from the pits he had dropped to third place, five seconds behind Verstappen and 7.5 seconds back on Norris.
Hamilton beat Norris with about ten laps to go, but he couldn’t overtake Verstappen – taking the checkered flag an agonizing 2.2 seconds behind.
Following Hamilton’s disqualification, the top three finishers now rank as Verstappen, with Norris promoted to second and Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz to third.
In his new Mercedes machine, Hamilton regretted that he dropped from third to fourth place at the start.
The seven-time world champion managed to escape well, but was blocked by Norris under braking, allowing Sainz to sneak through. Norris had beaten off pole sitter Leclerc with a lunge in the first corner to take first place.
As Norris looked to build a lead – already two seconds ahead of Leclerc at the end of the second lap – Hamilton started to pass both scarlet cars.
Sainz was the first to arrive. Hamilton used the tow to catch up behind Ferrari on the 330km/h tow to Turn 12, and, assisted by DRS, drove alongside Sainz before sliding under the Spaniard.
Hamilton has won across the Pond six times, including five here in Austin, and the 38-year-old needed just two laps to knock Leclerc aside for second.
Even deeper on the brakes at Turn 12, Hamilton sailed along the outside of the Monegasque on the left, with Norris now three seconds ahead.
Max Verstappen achieved his 15th victory of the season on Sunday during the American Grand Prix
Verstappen had problems with his brakes throughout the race, but still managed to take the victory
Behind that, and Verstappen, struggling with his brakes, didn’t find it so easy to make progress.
He was stuck behind Leclerc for another five laps before finally making his move on the Monegasque.
He was seven seconds behind Norris and four seconds ahead of Hamilton. Hamilton was now 1.9 seconds behind Norris and would have taken the lead if Mercedes had used the undercut. But on the day itself, Mercedes was wrong, and Hamilton knew it.
“You’ve given me a huge gap to close,” he said after his first stop.
On lap 28, Verstappen dived under Norris to take the lead at Turn 12. Norris nibbled back on the Red Bull on the way to the ensuing right-hander, but failed to hold it.
Hamilton pitted for the second time on lap 37 of 56 and switched to the faster medium compound.
Hamilton had the bit between his teeth and within 10 laps he was crawling over the back of Norris’s McLaren.
The three podium finishers enjoyed it while drinking champagne after the race
Hamilton (left) and Lando Norris (right) took the remaining podium places after a good race
Norris swung his McLaren in at the entry of the first corner in an attempt to stop Hamilton, but the older Briton gained traction out of the corner and swung his Mercedes past.
Verstappen had a five-second lead and Hamilton started to overtake his old enemy, but was no longer short of laps.
Verstappen joined Hamilton (103 wins), Michael Schumacher (91), Sebastian Vettel (53) and Alain Prost (51) in the half-century club with his 15th victory from 18 rounds so far.
The Dutchman, booed on stage – possibly by supporters of his Mexican team-mate Sergio Perez – said: ‘Reaching my 50th career win makes me very proud, and we will try to push for more.’