The tale of the fierce rivals continues at the United States GP. Max Verstappen, following upon his trend from the last couple of years, beat Lewis Hamilton for the US GP win at COTA. However, it wasn’t all bad for Mercedes. Lewis Hamilton, despite his frustration during the race, looks past the current disappointment as Toto Wolff’s $126,000 gamble paid off. But what was this gamble? What did Hamilton say?

Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes have been having a tough year with their car. After discarding the zero pod concept early on in the season, the W14 looked super competitive for the first time this season. So much so that Hamilton had a chance at winning. The German team brought a new floor believed to be worth $126,000 at the US GP which seemed to have done the trick for Lewis Hamilton.

Hamilton however was ahead of Verstappen before the first round of pit stops and lost out as a result of the Dutchman’s undercut. The 7X world champion complained about the team’s strategy and the gap to Verstappen multiple times on the radio. However, as Hamilton finished only 2 seconds behind his arch-rival, his tone changed as he cheered on the team for the hard work.

As heard on F1TV, Lewis Hamilton during the cooldown lap said, “Fantastic weekend guys, very well done! We’ve got work to do in lots of different areas, but let’s keep pushing. Thank you to everyone back at the factory for the upgrade, let’s keep pushing. We’re getting closer, next time!” 

Despite the frustration of not winning the race, Hamilton had a positive outlook on things. Let’s see how Hamilton’s race unfolded for the Briton.

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Lewis Hamilton’s 2023 United States GP: A race of what could’ve been 

Lewis Hamilton started P3 at the US GP. The Briton got to a great start and overtook Charles Leclerc early on. From then it was a matter of catching up to Lando Norris and estimating Max Verstappen’s pace. Verstappen was the earliest to pit for new tires. Hamilton did catch up to Norris but the McLaren driver pitted for fresh rubber. The Mercedes man was kept out on used tires by his team and by the time he pitted, both Verstappen and Norris overtook him. 

The 38-year-old soon realized Mercedes’ error and complained on the radio. What if Mercedes pitted him a little early? Nonetheless, during the second round of pit stops, Hamilton opted for the softer rubber and gained position for P4 to P2. It was then a matter of catching his Dutch nemesis. In the end, the 7X champ just ran out of time.

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It’s been a hattrick of P2 finishes for Lewis Hamilton at COTA for the last 3 years. Every time he has been within touching distance of his 6th US Grand Prix victory, only to be denied by Verstappen. What did you think about Hamilton & Mercedes pace in Austin? Are they closing the gap with Red Bull?