Hamilton Reveals Friday Data Deficit Behind Ferrari Teammate Leclerc’s US GP Podium

Lewis Hamilton reveals what he lacked when compared to Charles Leclerc to lose out at the F1 US GP, where a front wing adjustment cost him hugely.

Ferrari 's Hamilton ended up fourth in the F1 US GP at the Circuit of the Americas, just about a second off the podium from Red Bull's Max Verstappen . Teammate Charles Leclerc was second, and the Brit knows the difference that made it happen.

It goes back to Friday when Hamilton started the F1 US GP weekend on the wrong foot and lost valuable time in FP1 and also FP2. It allowed Leclerc to accumulate the data and learning that ultimately made the difference on Sunday.

Hamilton Understood his F1 US GP Problems From Get Go

Hamilton complained that he couldn't turn the car, which is where he started to lose time. "I was lacking pace in the first two stints basically," he said to the media after the F1 US GP. "I just couldn't turn the car. And I think ultimately it all kind of started on Friday. Wrong setup, really, for FP1 and then went the wrong direction in FP2.

"Reverted back and got to a better place for FP3. But there's a subtle difference between Charles and our car, basically just in the race, and it's mostly just to do with the flap for how much wing you put on, and I think we've just been under-hitting it. Continuously under-hitting it for some reason.

"And when you do the lap to the grid, it feels like the car is good and then as soon as the race starts, massive washout and understeer, and I couldn't do anything about it, so they just pulled away. I lost those eight seconds, and that's really why I didn't get that position in the end," summed up Hamilton .

Hamilton Explains How He Got it Sorted at the Pit Stops

How did he manage to have a better end? It was said on the radio. Hamilton wanted to adjust the front wing flap, which is what Ferrari did in the two pit stops. But he was still short by the end of it. That ultimately led to his downer, as he did not have the experience that Leclerc managed to gain in practice.

"Because through the pit stops, I added four clicks," said Hamilton. "Next, at the next pit stop, I added another four clicks, and even then, I'm still another four clicks too short. And it's crazy to be 12 clicks down; we really need to look at how we get to that point. But I think it would have been a bit different if we had started with it, I think, in FP2, where you did in the long run.

"That's where Charles got the experience in that setup, and I didn't get the long run on it, so instead of being on the back foot, but with lots of positives to take, the team seemed to do a really great job with pit stops and strategy, and we obviously had a decent pace today, particularly last stint.

"If I had that in the first two, it would have for sure been in the for sure, been on the podium, I think in the end," summed up Hamilton, who felt the tire strategy went wrong on his end once again. It was not the strategy in itself but the choice of compound. Ultimately, the hard tire was the best of the lot.

Hamilton Felt Hard Tyre was the Best Compound

He had saved two sets of medium tires, which didn't work as well as expected. He thought he made a good start to pounce on ailing Verstappen, but starting on the used soft tire cost him better pace. "Yeah, I mean, I chose to have two medium tires because they didn't think the hard tire was going to be any good," continued Hamilton.

"In hindsight, it would have been two hard tires, which would have been the better one. The hard tire was the best tire. And then it meant I started on a used soft, which is from used to new; it's two seconds of race time. And so, it affects the start as well compared to others that are on the new.

"All the cars ahead are on the new, but I had a really good start, nearly got to third place or whatever it was, but Charles was on the outside, and I didn't get to capitalize on that. But yeah, otherwise, as I said, there are lots of positives to take from it. I think lots of learning.

"I think if, for the next races, I can really get on top of this balance issue that I have, I think we can get much better results. If I had the balance that I need, even if I just had the balancing of the last stint, I would have been right in the fight all the way to the end, but I think even then, another step from there, I think we could have probably qualified better. And so, some good points."

VSC Cost a Podium Chance But Issue was First Two Stints

As pointed out earlier, Hamilton managed to gain massively on the last stint on the hard compound. He got through Lando Norris and had Verstappen in his sights. But a late Virtual Safety Car period potentially cost him laps and time. Ultimately, the first two stints cost him that extra time, which was the difference he had to make.

"I think, well, we have got to have a little bit of a battle with Max in the last couple of laps, so, yeah, that would have been awesome," said Hamilton. "But as I said, I think it was all the first two stints; I just lost so much ground. Can't be giving up that time in the future. I think I really feel like I'm happy with how I drove.

"It took two whole stints to try and get this car to turn, and then once it started to turn in the third stint, I was back on pace with the guys ahead and had a big gap to close — eight or nine seconds or whatever it was — to the car ahead. So those guys are obviously very quick, so I just got to work on not losing that second points," summed up Hamilton.