Hamilton: Vegas provided ‘better race than most tracks’

Lewis Hamilton gave a resounding thumbs-up to the Las Vegas GP after Saturday night’s event, calling it “one of the best races” on the season.

And yet the Mercedes driver’s efforts in Sin City only yielded a seventh-place finish, a disappointing result that the Briton owed to a run-in with McLaren’s Oscar Piastri on lap 17 of 50 which led to a puncture and an additional pit stop for both drivers.

Hamilton felt lucky to bag a few points but reckoned that a podium would have been on the cards without the unfortunate incident.

"I have no idea what would be possible, but I'm grateful to get a couple of points at least. But it would have been a podium, for sure,” he said.

• Read also: Russell admits ‘throwing away’ comfortable Vegas GP podium

The seven-time world will likely quickly forget the unsatisfying outcome of his race, but he admitted to having a blast racing on the streets of Las Vegas.

"The race was great. It was one of the best races," he said.

"So many people, all the media, everyone has been so negative about this race and about the show and all that, I was [like] just let it be and let's see how it goes. Great race! This is like Baku, but better.

Asked if the event offered fans the right mix of sport and entertainment, Hamilton said: "I haven't seen any entertainment so I don't really know. I have not been watching that side of things.

"But as I said, there's just been a lot of negativity about having three grands prix in the States and people talking about bringing back old classic races from Europe.

"But this has provided a better race than most of the tracks we go to. So, hats off to the people that run the show and can't wait to come back and hopefully have a better race here next year."

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