‘Really challenging’…£540k-a-week F1 driver apologises to team after performance in Las Vegas this weekend

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Lewis Hamilton has apologised to his Mercedes team after failing to get the best out of his car in Las Vegas.

Hamilton was speaking to the press in the early hours of Sunday morning in Nevada, via Sky Sports F1.

The seven-time world champion has driven the wheels off his car for much of this season without getting the rewards he would like.

Six podiums is a decent return, especially considering how quick Ferrari, McLaren and Aston Martin have been at times this season.

Being within touching distance of Sergio Perez for much of the year has also shown just how quick he is.

However, this weekend hasn’t gone to plan for Hamilton and he apologised for not advancing to the last qualifying session in Las Vegas.

He was less than two-tenths off Fernando Alonso to secure a top-ten spot but considering how fast his teammate George Russell was going, he’ll know that he and the team made a mistake not running a faster tyre.

Hamilton didn’t have much more luck in the race itself, getting caught up in the frenetic first-corner action that saw several cars spinning.

His contact with Oscar Piastri further hampered his chances of a positive result, but coming away from Sin City with six points is a decent return considering his situation.

Hamilton has apologised after Las Vegas outing

Speaking after the race, Hamilton said: “A really challenging race. I started on the hard tyre which was tricky at the beginning and then I got hit from someone behind, I think it was Carlos or someone like that.

“And then just really tried to not hit the cars that had spun round and I fell back five or six places and then after that just making my way back.

“I was feeling great, tyres were feeling good, pace was strong and then went up the inside of Piastri, I don’t really know exactly what happened but obviously got the hit from behind, I think it was a racing incident.

“But then, I just felt a thud, I didn’t have a puncture immediately so I was accelerating and just as I got alongside the pit entry I felt the rear moving and it was too late.

“So, I had to do a whole slow lap and I must have lost like 40 seconds with everything.

“But grateful I was able to get back and apologies to all the team for the poor qualifying yesterday.

“There are strengths within our car but sometimes it’s just really difficult to get the performance out of it.”

The £540,000-a-week driver now has one more race to look forward to before the 2023 season ends.

Mercedes wouldn’t have expected Hamilton to have apologised for his outing in Las Vegas, with the racing incident he had with Piastri causing the most damage to his hopes.

The error in qualifying would have been frustrating, but ultimately luck wasn’t on his side in Sin City this weekend.