Lewis Hamilton believes that Mercedes’ upgrade package may have something to do with his uncharacteristic lap-three spin at the United States Grand Prix.
The seven-time world champion had a weekend to forget, finishing sixth in the sprint race before dropping out in Q1 later on Saturday. However, after starting 17th on the grid, he enjoyed a strong start to the Grand Prix, climbing to 12th at the end of lap one.
This progress came unravelled on lap three though. Entering Turn 19 he lost the rear of his W15 machine, spinning out into the gravel and beaching the car, which in turn triggered a safety car.
Hamilton wasn’t the only Mercedes driver to struggle at this corner. On his final Q3 lap on Saturday, team-mate Russell suffered a nearly identical crash, hitting the barrier after losing control at Turn 19.
The seven-time world champion believes the two incidents may be linked. “In P1 I had the same thing,” Hamilton said. “I had the spin in Turn Three, which is so rare. I have never spun in Turn Three 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.”
Offering some more details about the crash that ended his race, Hamilton explained: “I wasn’t even pushing at that point. I was literally just trying to get going and bringing the tyres 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.”
While Hamilton’s day ended early, Russell staged a memorable comeback. The Brit started from the pit lane as a result of his qualifying crash but recovered to finish P6.
These points were welcomed by Toto Wolff, but the Mercedes team principal was seething after the race due to a five-second time penalty that Russell received for forcing Valtteri Bottas off the track at Turn 12.
