Lewis Hamilton’s battle with Max Verstappen at the United States Grand Prix has boosted Mercedes’ confidence in next year’s world championship challenge.
Verstappen overtook Hamilton by more than five seconds to win in six laps. Despite seeing his team’s winless streak continue, Hamilton was encouraged by his near victory.
“What I’ll take from today is that we have good pace, I’m still here, and when they build the car I know I’ll take it up. We have to get on with our work,” he told Sky.
Mercedes brought a number of improvements to their car this weekend, not all of which were used during the race, which helped the team further close the gap on the front runners.
“I want to give a big shout out to my team,” Hamilton said. “Everyone back at the factory is working really hard and it’s been such a tough year for everyone.
“We came here with improvements, they worked hard to bring those improvements and it really had an impact so we’re closer today. I’m really proud of everyone. Sorry I couldn’t get the win, I gave everything.
The struggle for victory between the pair did not last long. Verstappen quickly passed the Mercedes in the DRS zone after catching Hamilton.
“We were in the lead and I saw him close a second in one lap and I couldn’t really answer,” Hamilton said.
“He was behind on the straight, I think they were like 10km/h on the straight. And at the end of the straight our mirrors were shaking so much that I couldn’t see where he was so it was hard to defend.
Red Bull has the chance to overtake Mercedes-Ferrari for second place in the standings as it wraps up the Constructors’ Championship today. “I can’t put into words how much it means to the team to do this,” Hamilton said, “especially with everything and everything that happened last year in the last race, what happened this year in terms of our car. Performance and all the news and everything that happened.
“A win would be a huge win for all of us and would be hugely important.”
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2022 United States Grand Prix
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