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What an exciting start to an action-packed race weekend it has been. For the fans, the Sprint weekend at the United States GP is already proving to be quite an investment with an incredible qualifying session. For the first time in the 2023 season, 17 races later, the United States Grand Prix main rain will feature a diverse front three, speaking in terms of the teams. The exciting scenario was created only because of Max Verstappen‘s slip-up during his final push lap in Q3. This slip-up gave Lewis Hamilton a rare opportunity to claim a win in the race. In fact, this slip-up also gave the entire Hamilton clan a lot to be excited about as well.

The W14 is rapid on the Circuit of The Americas (COTA) and we say that with rapid laps from both Mercedes men. However, the Brackley outfit was still no match for the superior Red Bull machinery. The only scenario that could give Hamilton a taste of victory was an error from Verstappen, and that is exactly what happened. Verstappen, on his final push lap, put all four tires over the white line and got his lap deleted. However, unlike Hungary, Hamilton could not deliver a faultless lap himself and qualified in third place for the main race, which invoked some irritation among his fans.

 

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Regardless, the Brit starting in the second row is still a positive outcome for Mercedes, as they would definitely look to go for a win while keeping an eye on the world champion in the mirror. This scenario has not only put a lot of excitement in the Mercedes camp but also in the Hamilton clan.

On the qualifying update post shared on F1’s official Instagram page annoying the front three, we see a comment from a member of the Hamilton clan. Hamilton’s brother Nicholas decided to express his feelings in the comment section. He commented, Great quali, this weekend will be exciting! 🔥

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We couldn’t agree more with the BTC driver. In fact, this scenario also gives the seven-time world champion to defend his record against Verstappen.

Lewis Hamilton can defend his long-standing record against Max Verstappen for another race

Max Verstappen ever since the 2022 season has put his foot on the peddle and not taken it off. The relentless approach from the Dutchman already saw him break the single-season race wins record in 2022. Now, as he attempts to break his own record in 2023 as well, there is another record he has crawled up to.

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via Reuters

After the Qatar GP, Verstappen brought up his race wins tally to 14, astonishingly in 17 races. He needs one more race win to equal his own record and another to break it in the remaining five. However, another race win for the Dutchman will also bring his overall tally to 50 race wins.

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What’s significant is how quickly will he reach this half-century mark. Lewis Hamilton took 185 races to win his 50th race in the circus, which happens to be a record. For Verstappen, the 2023 US GP will mark his 181st race win. So if the Dutchman can win the race come Sunday, he will have another record to his name. The fastest to 50 race wins in the sport.

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WATCH THIS STORY: Lewis Hamilton remains unwavering in his determination to halt Max Verstappen’s dominance, despite enduring significant neglect from the FIA

However, after his botched qualifying, it might prove to be a little more difficult than usual for Verstappen, especially if Hamilton can have a say in the matter. However, knowing Verstappen, he will give it everything to get another race win and it’s never over until it’s over, 2021 taught us that.

Written by

Mahim Suhalka

2,201Articles

One take at a time

Mahim Suhalka is a senior F1 Author at EssentiallySports. Having written over 1,000 articles, Mahim specializes in core sports coverage. Having followed the sport for a long time, his articles contain excellent analysis as he dives deeper into the technicalities of this complex sport.
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Edited by

Akash Pandhare