Lewis Hamilton has issued a threatening warning to Formula 1 rival Max Verstappen at the Austin GP.
Lewis Hamilton was in contention for pole in Austin but finished third, three places ahead of Max Verstappen, with Mercedes declaring the new improvements a success.
Lewis Hamilton said he will do whatever it takes to end his Formula One drought after beating Max Verstappen at the United States Grand Prix.
The seven-time world champion starts Sunday’s race third on the grid.
He could have done better, but Charles Leclerc was quick enough to take pole and Lando Norris put in a fine lap to guide his compatriot to the front row.
But that didn’t dampen Hamilton’s spirits.
He simply smiled as he reacted to the results.
“I would like to express my deepest gratitude to everyone at the factory,” he said.
“They worked hard to improve our car and this weekend we got one step closer to the front.
“I know everyone is working hard on this and I appreciate all their efforts.
“Unfortunately, we didn’t make it to the front line today, but we’ll try again tomorrow.”
He talked about the car being refurbished with a new floor this weekend.
Although it is still too early to comment, Mercedes technical director Andrew Shovlin gave a positive assessment after qualifying.
“Sprint races are always difficult because of the limited training time,” he said.
“Trying to pack updates into one package is very difficult.
Looking at the data, it looks like the improved layers are delivering what we want and that drivers are benefiting from them.
This is encouraging.
“Lewis had a relatively easy day of running.
At times I thought we had a chance to reach the Pole, but in the end it was very close.
Unfortunately, he didn’t go much further than that on his last attempt, but he still managed a strong P3.”
It was a good enough result for Hamilton to start Sunday’s race ahead of Verstappen and earn a buffer.
The Dutchman looked set to take pole, but the lap time disappeared.
That means his best finish was sixth on the grid, behind Carlos Sainz and George Russell.
Hamilton feared Red Bull could still have a much higher race pace, but he was dreaming of ending a nearly two-year winless run.
“I love being in America! It’s a beautiful country and the tracks are very beautiful,” he said.
“It’s definitely one of my favorites. It has a legendary look, it is bumpy and every driver has a hard time. Each section is a great challenge.
I hope I can fight for P1 again tomorrow.
“I’ll do my best and I think anything is possible with this crowd.”
