John N
Lewis Hamilton took a sensational podium and led nine laps to his seventh podium of the season at the Circuit of The Americas.
Lewis and Max put on a great show 🍿#USGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/QdIVZQ9cE7
— Formula 1 (@F1) October 23, 2022
Mercedes may still be hunting their first win of the season, but in Texas, they outscored Ferrari to close the constructors’ standings to 53 points. Hamilton started on the second row for the United States Grand Prix after Charles Leclerc and Sergio Perez were demoted with grid penalties.
“I mean, I am shattered,” said Hamilton after finishing second. “The car was a handful today. It felt amazing firstly to be in the lead. That is something we have been working so hard on as a team through the year, and I felt so much hope, but it’s okay.
The seven-time champion finished second in Texas after pole-sitter Carlos Sainz retired on Lap 1. Hamilton took the lead after undercutting Max Verstappen, who had a slow second pitstop, but the Red Bull driver soon passed the Mercedes driver.
“Huge thank you to the crowd here; we have such an amazing crowd,” said Hamilton. “This is the biggest crowd we’ve had here the whole time we’ve been here. Secondly, I want to give a big shoutout to my team. We came here with upgrades, closing the gap a little bit.
“We were so close, I did everything I could to try and stay ahead [of Verstappen], but they were just a little bit too quick today. But great strategy, great race by Red Bull, and again my condolences to the team,” he said after the passing of Red Bull co-founder Dietrich Mateschitz.
Carlos Sainz said it was “frustrating and disappointing” to suffer his sixth DNF of the season as he was tapped into a spin and out of the 2022 United States Grand Prix from pole position.
Max Verstappen jumped the Spaniard at the start of the race, and, going into Turn 1, Sainz was swiped by the Mercedes of George Russell. The Briton took a five-second penalty after Sainz dived back into the pits to retire from the race in Austin.
The Ferrari driver said that his most recent DNF continued a trend that has stretched over the season. Sainz retired from the Australian, Emilia Romagna, Azerbaijan, Austria, and most recently, the Japanese and US Grand Prix.
“There’s been so many races where I don’t even complete one lap, so that is also difficult to make a step forward on race days, which shows how frustrated I am and how my year has been because the speed is there, but it’s been just a very poor year in terms of luck and things happening,” he said at the Circuit of The Americas on Sunday.
Sainz’s sole victory came at Silverstone, with Ferrari ahead of Mercedes in the constructors’ championship.
Lance Stroll has explained his high-speed clash with Fernando Alonso during the United States Grand Prix – an incident that put the Aston Martin driver out on the spot and sent the Alpine airborne.
Alonso and Stroll come together 💥😮#USGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/H8Wbs0GaXL
— Formula 1 (@F1) October 23, 2022
Shortly after a Safety Car restart on Lap 22 of 56 at the Circuit of The Americas, Alonso attempted a move on Stroll along the lengthy back straight, but the pair dramatically made contact and slammed into the barriers.
As he made his way back to the pits for repairs, Alonso questioned Stroll’s “very late move” to the left shortly before they collided, with the stewards due to meet the pair post-race to review the incident.
“It was a big difference in speed. I was kind of judging where he was behind me, and I moved based on where I thought he was behind me. But he got really close to me, and we just made contact, so [it’s] frustrating.”
Shortly after a Safety Car restart on Lap 22 of 56 at the Circuit of The Americas, Alonso attempted a move on Stroll along the lengthy back straight, but the pair dramatically made contact and slammed into the barriers.
As he made his way back to the pits for repairs, Alonso questioned Stroll’s “very late move” to the left shortly before they collided. The stewards subsequently met with the pair post-race to review the incident, with Stroll handed a three-place grid drop for next week’s Mexican Grand Prix, along with two penalty points on his licence.
