Hamilton shrugs off Verstappen's complaints over bumpy Austin circuit

Pulse Sports Team 10:19 - 25 October 2026

Lewis Hamilton has embraced the bumpy surface at the Circuit of the Americas, insisting the rough asphalt gives the Austin track extra "character".

The United States Grand Prix venue has long posed a severe physical test for drivers due to its notoriously uneven terrain. Max Verstappen was particularly critical of the punishment drivers take this weekend, with the four-time world champion revealing back scans had shown disc damage caused by the constant jarring over the bumps.

Hamilton, however, sees the situation in a completely different light and admitted he welcomes the extra element of unpredictability when trying to hook up a clean lap.

"Personally, I like the bumps because they add character to the track," Hamilton told reporters. "I enjoy that challenge because the car is constantly bouncing and you have to adjust your line. In an ideal world, the circuit would be completely smooth, but then it would lack character. That is what gives this track a little extra edge. The layout is already fantastic, and the bumps just enhance it. Turn 1 isn't giving us any trouble at all. There is some bouncing through Turns 9 and 19, but we are all in the same boat. People complain, but I am 42 years old and my back is completely fine."

Post-qualifying puzzle

After setting the pace in Free Practice 3 earlier in the day, Hamilton went into Saturday's qualifying session hoping to fight for pole position. As the session wore on, however, Ferrari's pace slipped away, leaving the seven-time world champion down in sixth on the starting grid.

The Briton admitted he was at a loss to fully explain the sudden drop in performance.

"I haven't looked at the telemetry yet," Hamilton explained. "All weekend we've been monitoring the straight. Heading into Turn 1, when we clip power, Red Bull just keep pulling away. It's a similar story in other sections, such as into Turn 11. I suspect it's the same heading down to Turn 12, and the GPS traces show the gap through the rest of the lap as well. I don't really know what happened. The car felt pretty good, the lap was solid, but our rivals were simply quicker."