Lewis Hamilton was forced to retire prematurely during the Austin Grand Prix, after going off the track at the start of the race.
The seven-time Formula 1 world champion saw his Mercedes spin at turn 19, an incident similar to that experienced by his teammate George Russell during qualifying the day before. However, unlike Russell, Lewis Hamilton did not hit the barriers but ended up stuck in the gravel, ending his race.
When interviewed after the incident, Hamilton expressed surprise, explaining that he was not even pushing his car at the time.
“This is the first time this has happened to me.he confided to Sky Sports. I wasn’t even really pushing when the car spun. Bono (his race engineer, editor’s note) told me I had a tailwind of 40 km/h, but the left wheel started to bounce and I lost control of the rear.”
The Briton also pointed out a recurring problem with the Mercedes, mentioning that the car sometimes ran on three wheels, which complicated the management of the car:
“It’s something we’ve noticed before, but it’s never happened to me in a race before today.”
Comparison with the George Russell incident
Hamilton’s exit from the track is reminiscent of that of his teammate George Russell the day before in qualifying. The latter, although affected by a similar incident, was able to continue the race with a car equipped with the old aerodynamic package.
“George is doing a great job with the old packageadded Hamilton. It will be interesting to see if we can learn from this to improve the car.”
This new development brought by Mercedes, on which the team has worked hard, seems to pose unexpected challenges. However, Hamilton remains optimistic about what the team can learn from this situation.
A feeling of frustration for Hamilton
Visibly frustrated by this abandonment, Hamilton wanted to apologize to his team: “It’s really upsetting. I’m sorry to the whole team at the factory. I’ve never spun in a race before. It’s not a lack of concentration, just an unexpected bounce who trapped me.”
Hamilton will not be able to dwell on this incident for too long, however, because the Formula 1 season quickly continues with the Mexican Grand Prix, scheduled for this weekend. The Briton hopes that his car will be better adapted to the racing conditions and says he is ready to give everything to bounce back after this retirement.
“I will prepare as best I can for next week and hopefully we will be in a better position.”
he concludes.
The weekend in Mexico will be crucial for Hamilton and Mercedes, who will have to quickly learn lessons from this unexpected setback in Austin.
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