Lewis Hamilton has insisted ahead of this weekend’s United States Grand Prix that he’s focused on “moving forward”, following his collision with George Russell in Qatar.
The seven-time World Champion retired on the opening lap of the recent Qatar Grand Prix, after colliding with Russell due to not having given the 25-year-old enough room.
Both drivers span, with Hamilton having ended up in the gravel without a wheel, whilst Russell was able to rejoin at the back.
To his credit, the King’s Lynn-born driver showed exceptional pace and recovered to fourth.
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Whilst no penalty for the accident was given, Hamilton did accept “full responsibility” and was seen later apologising to his team-mate.
He’s now keen to look ahead rather than look back, as he recognises that he can’t do anything “about the past”.
“Move forwards. Just excited… the great thing about our sport is that there is always another day to get back on the horse and so that’s just been pushing, moving forward,” Hamilton said, as reported by F1’s official website.
“There’s nothing I can do about the past, there’s definitely things I can learn from, which I have and just now [I’m] focused on getting back in and excited for these new races coming up, especially these back-to-backs.”
Hamilton and Russell both have upgrades at their disposal at the Circuit of the Americas, a venue the 38-year-old often performs very strongly at.
Mercedes have introduced their “last big update” for this weekend, which includes a modified floor.
The Silver Arrows will be hopeful that this will support them in their fight for second in the Constructors’ Championship against Ferrari, and Hamilton’s quest to catch Sergio Perez for second in the Drivers’ Standings.
Hamilton is hopeful that the upgrades will get the Germans closer to the likes of Red Bull and McLaren, who are currently at the top of the pecking order.
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“Been a huge amount of work back at the factory,” said Hamilton. “This is our last big update or the last of the large updates throughout the season. I’m really excited to see how it feels.
“All the amazing people back at the factory worked incredibly hard during the whole season, and hopefully this really kind of tips the needle and helps us in the right direction of where we want to pursue next year.
“I don’t know exactly all the different parts of the circuit that I’ll feel it but hopefully it’s a global improvement and hopefully it puts us closer to the guys ahead.”