Lewis Hamilton witnessed heartbreak at Austin last week after his P2 finish was discarded due to unfortunate disqualification. The Mercedes ace had fought hard to bring down the gap to Max Verstappen to just 1.5 seconds on the final lap. However, his W14 failed the post-race inspection due to irregularities in plank width.
However, at the recently concluded Mexico Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton redeemed himself. He had a pretty rough and unpredictable weekend, as his W14 behaved vaguely under different circumstances. Still, the seven-time world champion drove beautifully to come home P2. He reacted on the win post-race and revealed how he did not expect to attain a podium on Sunday.
Lewis Hamilton Jokes On Keeping P2 Finish At Mexico After Austin Heartbreak!
After the floor upgrade introduced in Austin, Lewis Hamilton’s W14 has come alive. In Austin itself, the British driver took a major leap to curtail down the gap to Max Verstappen below two seconds. However, Hamilton was denied a podium finish after his car failed the plank test, which led to immediate disqualification. But a champion driver like Hamilton wasn’t going to take it to heart and came out stronger in Mexico. His W14 struggled visibly during qualifying. He could only end up at P6 before his car came alive during the main race. Lewis Hamilton began the race on a high and eventually passed Daniel Ricciardo, Carlos Sainz, and Charles Leclerc while barely maintaining tyre degradation.
During the post-race interview, when a reporter informed that he would be allowed to keep his P2 finish this time around, Lewis Hamilton joked, “Don’t speak too soon!” On a serious note, the British driver revealed that he did not expect a podium finish, especially with the kind of pace Ferrari was riding on. While his car struggled on low fuel during qualifying, it attained more stability with loaded fuel during the main race. Still, tire management was a daunting task Hamilton faced during the final few laps of the race. He continuously complained to his race engineer about not being able to push as the latter assured him of the best. Overall, Hamilton credited his engineers for getting his setup right. And hope to close the gap with Max Verstappen next week in Brazil.
Hamilton Calls For Big Changes To Defeat Red Bull In 2024!
Despite a positive resurgence, Lewis Hamiton does not believe Mercedes has gotten anything better than last year. He still feels that they are mirroring the progress they made in 2022 at the same time. Thus, big changes need to come in for Mercedes in 2024 to ensure closing the gap to Max Verstappen, who he believes can win 18-19 races this year in his RB19.
Lewis Hamilton believes that Bahrain would be the key to having a successful season in 2024. He does not want his team to lag 1.5 seconds behind Red Bull during the test run itself, as it adds to the pressure. Regardless, the Brito expects to have a couple of close weekends with Max Verstappen before the painful season concludes.