Lewis Hamilton says an “unlucky” yellow flag time cost him sprint qualifying pole for the United States Grand Prix.
Hamilton appeared to be in good contention for pole when he set the fastest first leg of the final qualifying session, four tenths ahead of Mercedes team-mate George Russell at the lap stage.
However, he would lose a lot of time in the second section as he made a mistake at turn 12 after his braking point was changed as yellow flags waved to warn him about drifting ahead of Williams’ Franco Colapinto.
The seven-time world champion lost momentum and eventually finished seventh, more than half a second behind pole-sitter Max Verstappen’s leading effort. Russell finished second just 0.012s behind the Red Bull.
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Anthony Davidson was on SkyPad to take a closer look at how Franco Colapinto’s yellow flag affected Lewis Hamilton’s Sprint qualifying.
“I was just unlucky with the yellow flag,” said Hamilton.
“It is what it is. I was four-tenths higher.”
When asked if it was pole position that started, Hamilton nodded and replied: “The good thing is that the team made a move with the car.”
Mercedes won three of the four races before Formula 1’s summer break, but their form has dipped since the restart of the season and their only podium in the last four races was a third place for Russell in Azerbaijan.
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Sprint qualifying highlights from the US Grand Prix of the Americas.
Hamilton attributed what appears to be another uptick in form to the upgrades Mercedes brought to Austin, which include updates to the W15’s front wing, front suspension and floor pan.
He added: “The update has obviously worked and I’m really grateful to everyone at the factory for the hard work they’ve put in over this period, because it’s been difficult for everyone to get the updates and make sure they’re there. working
“It’s not the end of the day, we have another chance tomorrow.”
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Lewis Hamilton was lucky not to crash after he lost control of his car during a high-speed lap during FP1 of the US Grand Prix.
Mercedes’ display was made even more impressive by the fact that the Sprint format allows just 60 minutes of practice before the start of competitive action in Friday’s shortened qualifying session.
“We did a great job between (sessions) to make changes to the car,” Hamilton added.
“It’s always a bit of a gamble because you don’t know if the changes you make will work or not.
“But you hope they’ll do what you intend them to do. As soon as I got out of the car, it was night and day. So that was a great job by the garage guys.
United States GP schedule live on Sky Sports F1
Saturday October 19
18:00. United States GP Sprint Rally
19:00. United States GP Sprint
20.30: Ted’s Sprint Notebook
22:00. United States GP Qualifying*
23:00. United States GP Qualification*
(Sunday) at 1:00. Ted’s qualifying notebook
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Take a look back at the most dramatic moments from the United States Grand Prix.
Sunday October 20
18:30. Grand Prix Sunday. United States GP Rally*
20:00. United States Grand Prix*
22:00. Checkered flag. United States GP reaction
23:00 Ted’s notebook
*also live on Sky Sports Main Event (Sunday race meeting from 7.15pm)
Watch the entire United States GP Sprint weekend live on Sky Sports F1. Stream every F1 race and more with a NOW Sports Month membership. no contract, cancel anytime
