Lewis Hamilton was restless after his disqualification from P2 last weekend. Although the driver took to Instagram to joke about it, he seemed to have made up his mind on getting back his podium victory. And so he did. The Brit started his race from a P6. Although not the best results for a qualification, the driver was used to the position considering a poor quality season for Mercedes.
However, what he completely missed out on was Sergio Perez’s crash that led to his retirement in the very first lap. The race began like any other however, Charles Leclerc and the Mexican driver crashed into one another making the Mexican driver be lifted and exit the race altogether. The crash left Perez crying while Leclerc took a podium finish after his disqualification.
However, it was when the winning drivers watched the replay of the moment of the collision in the cooldown room. That was when Hamilton experienced a deja vu as he recollected his memory from Qatar. He said, “Where’s he going? Oh s***! Haha, he’s me in Qatar!”
Lewis: “Where’s he going?! Shit he did me in Qatar!”
— Ky (@FiftyBucksVT) October 29, 2023
Although making a mistake, his experience has taught him how to learn from them and joke about them whenever necessary.
Hamilton’s reaction to the collision had Verstappen and Leclerc smile and laugh. The Qatar incident included a Mercedes double collision. Although George Russell got out of it fine, Hamilton had his first DNF this season.
Lewis Hamilton celebrates key improvement at Mercedes
After a rough start to the season for Mercedes, the team struggled to catch on. However, they had nothing to worry about with Hamilton on their side. The driver brought the team to a second position with podium victories. Meanwhile, George Russell managed to put a good foot out and get the team more points. However, the seven-time champion has had a bit of a struggle recently.
After his Qatar outing, the driver was left out of the race and his Austin race podium win was cut short with a disqualification. However, the driver was prepared for the worst and brought a comparatively slow car to a P2 once again.
Lewis Hamilton post-race:
“Honestly, I didn’t expect this today! It’s always a good feeling when you put one foot in front of the other and you’re improving. It was a difficult start, but we made improvements – I’m very happy with that.” pic.twitter.com/DFnXDVV6dU
— Mercedes-AMG F1 News (@MercedesNewsUK) October 29, 2023
During his post-race interview, he said, “Honestly, I didn’t expect this today! It’s always a good feeling when you put one foot in front of the other and you’re improving. It was a difficult start, but we made improvements – I’m very happy with that.”
The champion found satisfaction in the development of the car. However, the improvements came in late, leaving Hamilton only three more races for the season. Nonetheless, this can help Mercedes for their car next year.