Lewis Hamilton enjoyed what was potentially his best race of the season so far, seemingly to the shock of Red Bull at the United States Grand Prix.
It should’ve come as no surprise to the Austrians that Hamilton was a victory contender, given the fact that he is the most successful driver at the Circuit of the Americas, for which he’s won 50-percent of the races at.
In all honesty, it didn’t look like the seven-time World Champion would be battling for a win after qualifying, where he ended up nearly six-tenths behind polesitter Carlos Sainz.
Hamilton qualified fifth but actually started third due to grid penalties for Charles Leclerc and Sergio Pérez, and he had the quickest reactions off the line.
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The Mercedes driver battled team-mate George Russell into Turn One and opted to take an outside line around the impeccably tight corner.
This proved to be a wise move, as Carlos Sainz spun on the inside after being hit by George Russell.
Hamilton found himself in second by the time they exited the corner, a position he remained in technically for a large portion of the race.
He tried to undercut Max Verstappen at the first stops, but to no avail; however, the Brit tried it again later on in the race.
The second time it worked a treat, especially as Verstappen’s second stop was very poor based on the Austrians unbelievably high standards.
Hamilton; however, was caught and overtaken by Verstappen with six laps remaining, despite trying to defend the position.
Verstappen was simply too quick for the Mercedes driver, with the 25-year-old having also been on the Mediums compared to Hamilton who was on the Hards.
Second place was still a very strong result for the 37-year-old, who at least finished above Leclerc.
Hamilton and Leclerc had an interesting conversation after the race in the cooldown room, before Verstappen entered.
When the Red Bull star did enter, Hamilton immediately commented that no one could “compete” with Red Bull’s superior pace on the straights.
“It’s so hard to stay ahead of him [Verstappen],” Hamilton said to Leclerc prior to the Dutchman arriving in the cooldown room.
“Were you losing the front or the rear?” Leclerc asked the Briton.
“Rear,” replied Hamilton.
“What happened to Carlos [Sainz]?” questioned the Monegasque.
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“Erm, George [Russell] took him out,” replied the Mercedes driver.
“You came from so far back! We can’t compete with you on the straights,” Hamilton then said to Verstappen as the World Champion walked in.
“Turn 11 was so bad, the grip,” added Leclerc.