Lewis Hamilton's frustrating weekend at the United States Grand Prix culminated in a disappointing early retirement, leaving the seven-time champion pointing the finger at a potential glitch within Mercedes' latest upgrade package.
Hamilton's race came to a premature end on lap three when he spun into the gravel trap at Turn 19, the same corner where his teammate George Russell crashed on Saturday in the closing stages of qualifying.
It was an unfortunate conclusion to the seven-time world champion's afternoon, especially as he was nicely cutting his way through the field after a strong start.
“I wasn't even pushing at that point,” Hamilton commented as he reflected on the moment his race came to an abrupt end.
“I was literally just trying to get going and bringing the tires up to temperature.
“The car started bouncing, the left front started bouncing and the rear end just came round. “It was the same as George yesterday.”
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This was not an isolated event for Hamilton over the weekend. During the first practice session on Friday, he had a rare spin at Turn 3, an unusual occurrence in his long history at The Circuit of the Americas.
“In P1 I had the same thing,” he said. “I had the spin in Turn 3, which is so rare. I have never spun in Turn 3 in all the years I've been here.
“I was just saying about George obviously having the same problem yesterday, he has gone back to the old-spec car and is looking good out there, so maybe there is something with the new upgrade.”
The possibility of abandoning the new upgrades for the upcoming Mexican Grand Prix was also raised.
“We will investigate as much as we can, and after today we will get the data and see if we are going to be on the old or the new spec next week,” he said.
Hamilton's weekend in Austin was marked by inconsistency, mirroring the struggles of the Mercedes car.
A promising run in Friday's sprint race was hampered by a yellow flag, while Saturday's qualifying session saw him eliminated in Q1, resulting in a lowly 19th place starting position. The early race exit on Sunday only added to his woes.
With Mercedes facing an uphill battle to regain their previous form, Hamilton's suspicions about the new upgrade package could hold the key to their future performance.
The team will be analyzing data from the US GP to determine whether reverting to the previous specification is necessary for them to become competitive once again.
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