The very recent Las Vegas Grand Prix has been one of the most eventful races of the season, despite the shortcomings during the practice session. Regardless, the seven-time World Champion Lewis Hamilton turned out to be one of the less fortunate ones after starting from the eleventh spot.
The Mercedes driver faced the brunt of the harsh climate and the sharp turns of the newly built Las Vegas Street Circuit and landed with P7 at the conclusion of the race last Sunday.
However, Alpine driver Esteban Ocon and Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll took all by surprise with P4 and P5 respectively. The French driver executed a remarkable performance even after starting off from the sixteenth position on the grid.
Stroll, on the other hand, had to begin from the nineteenth spot but as the race progressed, he managed to make numerous overtakes and bagged himself the much desired P5 position at the conclusion of the race.
View this post on Instagram
But the highlight of the event in the Sin City was the number of passes conducted by Hamilton. A report suggests that the British driver executed not one or two but fifteen overtakes! Regardless, it all boils down to the fact that he is one of the most experienced drivers on the grid with a disputed seven championship wins.
Lewis Hamilton contemplates the missed podium in Las Vegas amidst multiple setbacks
As the latest Grand Prix in Las Vegas came to an end, Lewis Hamilton had his thoughts on what he might have done to fail in securing a podium finish. Despite his years of racing, the seasoned Mercedes driver had a gloomy race in Sin City, finishing just seventh overall. Several incidents disrupted his race, including crashes involving Oscar Piastri of McLaren and Carlos Sainz of Ferrari.
The other McLaren driver, Lando Norris also crashed and had to be rushed to the hospital.
The best overtake by Lewis at Las Vegas GP
Brave & Furious
Everyone was 😱😱😱@LewisHamilton
You’re a masterclass 💪🏻
— Petai (@limpektokcock) November 20, 2023
However, while speaking to the media, Lewis Hamilton said, “I have no idea what was possible. I’m just happy that I got some more points. But there definitely could have been a podium.” While Briton’s car was spared major damage from the incident with Sainz’s Ferrari, the same could hardly be said of the encounter with Piastri.
After colliding with the Australian’s McLaren, Hamilton’s W14 tire ruptured, forcing an instant pit stop, and lost valuable time over his rivals.
His teammate George Russell also faced a similar incident as his vehicle came in contact with the RB19 driven by the winner of the race, Max Verstappen. This collision cost him a five-second penalty. All these factors played a part in bringing Ferrari about four points closer to the Silver Arrows team.