Lewis Hamilton details why Red Bull are currently ‘just quicker’ than Mercedes
Hamilton’s title hopes were dealt a blow as Max Verstappen held on to extend his championship lead to 12 points
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Your support makes all the difference.Lewis Hamilton conceded Red Bull were “just quicker” at the United States Grand Prix after he finished 1.333 seconds behind title rival Max Verstappen in a thrilling race in Texas.
Hamilton started second on the grid on the return to the Circuit of the Americas but beat Verstappen to the first corner after superbly getting off the line.
But Verstappen’s early pit stop threw up an intriguing chase, with Hamilton on fresher tyres for the closing stages as he attempted to hunt the Red Bull down.
The Dutchman held on, however, to claim an important race win and extend his lead in the drivers’ standings to 12 points with five races to go.
“We gave it everything we had, and they were just quicker than us this weekend, for whatever reason,” Hamilton said afterwards. “I can’t pinpoint it. It looked like they had just a better rear end, a little bit less sliding than we had.
“[It was] a great start, and the goal was to get in the lead. Finally got a good start – I have not had as good a start in a long time – and I was really happy with it.
“It was just about staying clean and coming out ahead and holding onto it. It felt good at the time to get into the lead. I thought: ‘This is step one’, and as I said, they were just too quick.”
Red Bull hold the advantage with races in Mexico and Brazil next up. Hamilton admitted they are “strong circuits” for his opposition as he looks to claw back the deficit in his bid to win a record eighth championship.
“I don’t know what we could have done differently [today],” Hamilton added. “I’ll have to sit down and talk with the team afterwards – I think the team did a great job today and it was the best we had.
“We go into at least the next two tracks, which are very strong circuits for Red Bull – so that’s going to be tough, for sure.”
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