Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton haven’t been on the same page ever since the 2021 championship unfolded. 2022 was a crucial year for Lewis Hamilton. After losing the championship to Max Verstappen on the last lap in a controversial manner, it was important for him to establish his title challenge in 2022. And it wasn’t only about the challenge but getting back up from the lows of the 2021 Abu Dhabi GP. 

Mercedes, however, wasn’t able to provide Hamilton with a competitive car. The Briton struggled throughout the season, with the frustration building up. Amid all this, teammate George Russell was outperforming the 7x world champion. Toward the latter half of the season, Hamilton was presented with a golden opportunity at the Mexican GP. 

But the struggling Mercedes made a blunder during the race that possibly cost Lewis Hamilton the race win. The Briton hasn’t won a race since the 2021 Saudi Arabian GP. But what exactly cost Hamilton the race win at the 2022 Mexican GP?

Mercedes’ strategic blunder at the 2022 Mexican GP that cost Lewis Hamilton the race

Lewis Hamilton started the race in P3 behind his teammate George Russell in P2 and Max Verstappen in pole position. After fending off Sergio Perez during the start, Hamilton made a move on Russell on Lap 1 and took the P2 away from his teammate. Verstappen started on softs whereas Hamilton was on Mediums. Hamilton had the prime strategy to take the win. However, he wasn’t able to capitalize on it.

Max Verstappen, who was on soft tires, started to struggle on Lap 25 as he radioed his team, telling them that the left front was dead. Lewis Hamilton, on the other hand, was quite happy with the tires explaining to his team on the very same laps that the tires are okay. Verstappen pitted on lap 26 for fresh medium. Fearing the undercut, Mercedes put Hamilton on the Hard tires on Lap 30.

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On Lap 42, the Briton came on the radio complaining about the hard rubber not being good. Mercedes advised on how they saw a drop off on the medium tires and that others on medium tires wouldn’t be able to make it to the end. Verstappen, however, stretched his medium for 45 laps and took the race win. Mercedes failed to put Hamilton on the optimal strategy and only managed a P2. 

Daniel Ricciardo made a late stop for soft and was massively quicker compared to the medium and soft runners. Only if Hamilton stretched out those mediums that were still okay. Explaining the wrong tire choice, Hamilton said, “I’m not sure it was the right tire at the end. I thought we should have started on a Soft, but obviously, we had the opposite tire, and it was okay in the first stint, but that hard tire was just an offset.”

This year, however, Mercedes isn’t struggling nearly as much as last year and received a major boost at the US GP. 

Lewis Hamilton’s promising US GP despite losing to Max Verstappen 

Mercedes brought a new floor to the US GP. Lewis Hamilton was to advise on how he felt a noticeable difference between the car and the new floor. The same was portrayed during the race where the 38-year-old was matching the pace of Max Verstappen and was quicker than Lando Norris in P1. However, another strategic blunder by Mercedes cost Hamilton the race win. Verstappen undercut the Brit, put on better tires, and opted for the optimal strategy. 

“We Left Lewis Out There”: Giving Peculiar Reasoning, Mercedes Mastermind Pleads Guilty for Hamilton’s Miseries

Mercedes, on the contrary, reacted very late to Verstappen’s undercut and put on the hard tires in an attempt to do a 1 stop on a high tirewear track. Nonetheless, the race win wouldn’t have counted anyway as Lewis Hamilton was disqualified. During the post-race FIA check, it was found that Hamilton’s W14’s wooden plank didn’t meet FIA’s requirements and hence the Brit was disqualified. 

Nonetheless, during the post-race interviews, Hamilton had a positive approach as he explained how the team has come a long way. And that they are slowly but surely catching up to the Red Bull. Had it not been for Mercedes’ strategic calls, the Briton would’ve taken the win on track. Regardless, with the promising new upgrades, let’s see if Hamilton will be able to take the fight to Verstappen at the Mexican GP.

Can Lewis Hamilton beat Max Verstappen at the 2023 Mexican GP?

With the Mexico City Grand Prix on the horizon and Lewis Hamilton challenging Max Verstappen at the 2023 US GP, everybody wants to know if the Briton will be able to take the fight to the current World Champion. Keeping Mercedes’ upgrades and Hamilton’s return to form aside, let’s focus on the track first. 

The Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez is at a very high altitude compared to other tracks on the F1 calendar. With the air being thinner at the top, it becomes difficult for the teams to generate downforce. Therefore, even with the huge main straight, teams often arrive with a high downforce package. While the circuit is nowhere near the Circuit of The Americas in terms of layout, its unique high altitude characteristic means that teams are expected to arrive with a high downforce package similar to the US GP.

With the air being thinner, it also helps the cars that have a higher drag coefficient. Mercedes aren’t as fast as the Red Bull on the straights and this characteristic should suit them as well. Coming to the upgrades, we saw a considerable boost to Lewis Hamilton’s W14 in terms of performance. If Mercedes and the 7X champ get the setup right, we can expect a challenge for the Dutchman.

However, Max Verstappen with his Red Bull RB19 is the favorite. Ever since the return of the Mexican GP to the F1 calendar, Max Verstappen has had the most wins (4 wins). The Dutchman’s dominance during the 2023 season is uncanny. Max Verstappen, however, struggled with brake issues at the US GP. With the thinner air, reliability and keeping the car cool becomes an issue at the Mexican GP. 

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All things considered. Lewis Hamilton will definitely pose a threat to the Dutchman, who’s trying to break his own record for the most wins during a season. However, Max Verstappen remains the favorite for the Mexican GP win.

“The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of EssentiallySports.”