Lewis Hamilton fumes at ‘so slow’ Mercedes in unbroadcast radio message at US Grand Prix

Follow us on Google Discover

Lewis Hamilton’s US Grand Prix weekend got off to a frustrating start. As has been the case so many times this season, flashes of promise came to nothing in the Sprint.

Of the four frontrunners, Mercedes have brought the most extensive upgrade package to the event. In SQ1 and SQ2, Hamilton looked like a contender for pole.

The seven-time world champion also had a clear edge over teammate George Russell up until the decisive SQ3. Following the switch to soft tyres, Russell was comfortably quicker than Hamilton.

In the 39-year-old’s defence, he did lift for yellow flags after Williams driver Franco Colapinto went off the track. But he also faltered on the entry to turn 12, costing himself even more time.

Russell qualified on the front row, just a hundredth off polesitter Max Verstappen. Hamilton was only seventh, between the two Haas cars of Nico Hulkenberg and Kevin Magnussen.

Hamilton cleared Hulkenberg at the start to join the fight at the front. But he wasn’t able to make any more progress.

Lewis Hamilton couldn’t work out why he was struggling at US Grand Prix

It was striking that, even as Russell, Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc were involved in a three-way battle, Hamilton couldn’t markedly close up. He instead became detached from the top five.

It was only when Russell ‘toasted’ his front left tyre (his own words) that he made gains. Hamilton was within DRS range by the end, but though Mercedes warned their drivers to keep it clean in anticipation of a battle, he couldn’t get close enough to challenge.

The Silver Arrows walked away from the Sprint with just seven points when it briefly seemed on Friday as if they could contend for the win. The increase in temperatures overnight may have hurt them – a consistent theme in 2024.

Speaking in a team radio message that wasn’t broadcast on the world feed, an unhappy Hamilton asked engineer Peter Bonnington: “Where am I losing [time]? We’re so slow.”

George Russell reacts to ‘weird’ mistake from Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton

Hamilton warned Mercedes fans ahead of the US GP, explaining that it would be ‘almost impossible’ to optimise their upgrades with just one hour of practice. Red Bull and McLaren also changed their cars in the lengthy break after Singapore.

During Friday practice, there were signs that the Mercedes was unstable. Hamilton spun at high speed in turn four, while Russell also went round on the exit of turn one.

After seeing his teammate’s incident on the TV screens, Russell called Hamilton’s error ‘weird’. That’s because he’d also experienced a snap of oversteer at the same corner.

Hamilton has been experimenting with his Mercedes for the best part of three years. But it appears the team still haven’t hit on a lasting solution for their balance issues.