Mercedes
Hamilton had an uncommon spin early on after an ideal begin had lifted him to P12. He misplaced the rear by himself and obtained beached within the gravel, with staff boss Wolff indicating a automobile difficulty somewhat than driver error was guilty. Russell did decide up some factors for the staff regardless of ranging from the pit lane, to make sure they didn’t lose out fully in Austin. He made a protracted first stint on the hards work properly and managed to overhaul Perez late on to complete sixth – which is the place he would have began, however for that qualifying crash yesterday.
Lewis Hamilton, DNF
“I had an ideal begin, and I believed we have been in for a constructive race. I used to be simply bringing the tyres in after I had the accident, which was a extremely unusual second. I wasn’t pushing too exhausting however the automobile bounced a little bit into flip 19, I misplaced the again finish and that was that. We measured a big gust of wind, as much as 40 kph, as I turned by which doubtless didn’t assist. George had an identical spin to me yesterday so we’ll work exhausting to analyse each incidents and see what we are able to study from them.
“I’m sorry to the entire staff who’ve labored so exhausting to carry these updates however onwards and upwards from right here. Hopefully we are able to get the automobile in a greater place for subsequent week in Mexico. We’ll all be working extremely exhausting to take action.”
READ MORE: ‘I’ve by no means spun within the race earlier than’ – Hamilton manufacturers his US GP ‘irritating’ after uncommon spin ends race early
George Russell, sixth
“I used to be happy with how right this moment went from my aspect. We didn’t know what the race would carry when it comes to alternatives however going from the pit lane to P6, and ending forward of Crimson Bull, meant that we made the most effective of a troublesome scenario. We had good tempo all through, specifically on the Onerous compound tyre. We have been capable of lengthen that first stint and provides ourselves brisker rubber with which to assault within the closing laps.
“We’ll work exhausting within the coming days to analyse the weekend as a complete. The automobile can nonetheless be tough at instances; Lewis doesn’t finish races within the gravel as we noticed right this moment. Once we discover its candy spot, it’s able to sturdy performances however that’s troublesome to ship constantly. I feel the automobile had the potential to struggle for the rostrum this weekend, however we have to widen its working window. We’ll due to this fact be trying to bounce again subsequent weekend in Mexico.”
Toto Wolff, Head of Mercedes-Benz Motorsport
“It has been a troublesome weekend total right here in Austin. We see that there’s tempo within the automobile, as was proven on Friday and with George within the race right this moment, however we’re nonetheless coping with its inconsistency. That’s not one thing distinctive to us although. Completely different groups have come into and off form all through the season, however it’s one thing we might be working exhausting to enhance over the ultimate 5 races of the season.
“The constructive from right this moment was that George was fast all through and produced a great fightback from his pit lane begin. The staff within the storage labored exhausting final night time to get the automobile prepared for the race, with a big workload to get via as we needed to revert on specification. George drove a powerful race and was significantly fast on the Onerous compound. That enabled us to increase his first stint and in the end declare P6 within the remaining few laps. Sadly, it was a disappointing day for Lewis. He wasn’t pushing in any respect however a gust of wind, mixed with the soiled air from the automobile forward, and he misplaced the automobile. We have to take a look at that, and what occurred with George yesterday, to grasp why the automobile reacted like that. Lewis Hamilton will not be a driver that loses a automobile like that on lap two of a race, so there’s something there that we have to perceive.”
Andrew Shovlin, Trackside Engineering Director
“Provided that we had one automobile beginning on the again and one within the pit lane, we had sensible expectations as to what could possibly be achieved right this moment. Lewis made a great begin and was rapidly as much as P12. Sadly, that did not final lengthy as he misplaced the rear in flip 19. We’re nonetheless investigating what prompted that, however in any case, his race was over.
“George was making regular progress via the sector in his first stint, nevertheless it nonetheless took him till the midway level to get any clear air to evaluate tempo. Encouragingly, the automobile was hanging on to its tyres properly and that was permitting us to increase. P6 was the most effective he might have achieved right this moment, and he drove a great race to get there.
“As a staff we’ve underachieved throughout the weekend and are below no illusions that we have to do higher. The replace equipment has proven some promise, however we have not had a single clear session, and we’ll depart right here not understanding what we might have finished if we would began close to the entrance with a automobile in our newest aero specification. We’ll look to reply that query subsequent weekend in Mexico.”
