Lewis Hamilton is looking to bounce back at this weekend’s Las Vegas Grand Prix. He’d surely rate the previous race in Sao Paulo as one of the worst of his career.
Hamilton finished 10th in Brazil – his lowest position at the chequered flag all season. The seven-time world champion didn’t seem to have any confidence behind the wheel of his Mercedes.
There was a ‘remarkable difference’ between Hamilton and George Russell when it came to feeding the throttle on the exit of corners. The former’s uncertainty was obvious in the data.
And even to the naked eye, Karun Chandhok says Hamilton’s onboard footage looked ‘awful’. Russell was able to compete for victory until a poorly-timed red flag saw him drop out of the podium places.
Hamilton struggled in the dry, but there was hope that he’d fare better in the rain. Typically, a downpour allows driver talent to come to the fore, but the lack of grip only exacerbated his issues.
On his first visit to Las Vegas last year, he suffered a Q2 exit, lining up 11th on the grid. He was able to recover to seventh in the race.
Martin Brundle watching Lewis Hamilton ‘lit up’ through turn three at Las Vegas Grand Prix
Sky Sports F1 pundit Martin Brundle watched on from trackside during the second practice session at the Las Vegas GP. Hamilton had set the pace in FP1, nearly four-tenths faster than teammate George Russell.
Brundle was struck by how much speed Hamilton carried into turn three. The long right turn is precarious, with drivers running particularly close to the wall on the exit.
The ex-F1 driver had to ‘step back’ as he watched Hamilton, convinced he wasn’t going to hit the barriers. But in the end, it was simply a marker of his newfound confidence.
“Lewis Hamilton came through here absolutely fully lit up, carrying so much speed,” Brundle observed. “One of those sort of corners where you step back a little bit because you think the cars can’t possibly stick to the race track.”
Lewis Hamilton looking to recover one trait that’s ‘disappeared’ at Mercedes
Hamilton wasn’t especially optimistic during Wednesday’s media day. It’s set to be one of the coldest Formula 1 races on record, and Mercedes have struggled to generate tyre temperature.
There have been multiple occasions this season where the Silver Arrows have looked like pole contenders on a Friday before regressing to third or fourth-fastest in the meaningful sessions. They will certainly be wary of a repeat in Nevada.
Marc Priestley says Hamilton’s qualifying pace has ‘disappeared’ this year. He trails Russell 16-5 with three races remaining.
That may be one of his biggest concerns before he joins Ferrari next year. Some believe his new teammate Charles Leclerc is the fastest F1 driver over one lap.
