Lewis Hamilton delivers most encouraging Ferrari verdict yet following US GP
Signs of encouragement for Lewis Hamilton after the United States Grand Prix
Lewis Hamilton believes he’s now “feeling more and more at one with the car” after an encouraging United States Grand Prix.
Hamilton finished fourth in Sunday’s race at the Circuit of the Americas, 13 seconds behind Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc, who secured his sixth podium finish of the year.
The seven-time world champion enjoyed a consistent weekend, finishing fourth in the sprint race after overtaking Leclerc on-track with an aggressive manoeuvre into Turn 12.
It continues Hamilton’s steady progress since the summer break as he proves to be a closer match to Leclerc.
Still, Hamilton’s wait for a first podium in Ferrari colours goes on.
Hamilton has now broken the record for the most number of races for Ferrari without a podium finish.
The standout moment of Hamilton’s season remains his sprint race win in China, where he dominated from pole position.
That success was short-lived, however, as Hamilton was disqualified from the grand prix due to excessive plank wear.
Since then, it has been a season of struggle for the 40-year-old.
Two poor races before the summer break led to questions over whether Hamilton would even see out his Ferrari contract.
However, since then, Hamilton has been within a tenth or two of Leclerc’s pace on a consistent basis.
Qualifying execution continues to be one of Hamilton’s weaknesses, as highlighted by his impressive best sector times.
Hamilton was unable to hook up his best lap, leaving him behind Leclerc once again.
Hamilton notes improvement
Hamilton took to Instagram to highlight the “many positives” he’s taken from the weekend in Austin.
He wrote: “Austin, you never disappoint. There are so many positives to take from this weekend. I’m feeling more and more at one with the car so we’re definitely moving in the right direction.
“Big shout to the team for the hard work that’s gone into getting us this result and major love to all the fans out in Austin. Whether you were at the track or at the Plus44World pop up, the support is massive and one I look forward to every year. Til next year.”
Hamilton will be expecting another solid weekend in Mexico.
In the ground-effect era since 2022, Hamilton hasn’t finished lower than fourth at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.
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