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Seven-time Formula 1 world champion Lewis Hamilton has shed light on the setup issues that saw him narrowly miss out on a podium finish at the United States Grand Prix.
Starting fifth on the grid, the Ferrari driver made a swift getaway to pass Isack Hadjar for fourth into Turn 1, despite being the only frontrunner to tackle the opening stint on used soft tyres.
During the opening phase, however, the Briton was losing 0.277 seconds per lap to teammate Charles Leclerc and 0.422 seconds to Max Verstappen, both of whom were on fresh sets of softs. That accumulated deficit proved decisive, preventing the seven-time champion from challenging Verstappen for third in the closing stages at Austin, and potentially putting pressure on Leclerc for second.
The primary culprit behind his lack of pace across the first two stints was a compromised car setup—the lingering consequence of wrong turns taken during Friday's practice sessions.
"In the first two stints, I just had no pace. The car simply refused to turn. It all stemmed back to Friday with the wrong setup in FP1 and heading in the wrong direction in FP2 before finding a better balance in FP3," Hamilton explained. "There was a small but crucial difference between my car and Charles's during the race, mainly down to the aerodynamics and front wing angle, where we just couldn't hit the required downforce levels."
"On the laps to the grid the car felt fine, but the moment the race got underway, massive understeer kicked in. There was nothing I could do, and the cars ahead pulled away. I lost those eight seconds, and that's ultimately what cost me third place in the end."
The Briton also detailed the drastic adjustments made during his pit stops in an effort to restore front-end grip:
"At the first stop, we added four turns of front wing, and another four at the second, but we were still four clicks away. It's crazy to be 12 steps off the ideal balance. We have to look closely into why that happened. Had we started with this setup in FP2, I could have put in proper long runs like Charles did. The team did a great job with the stops and the strategy. We had really strong pace in the final stint, and if we'd had that from the beginning, a podium was guaranteed."
Hamilton's afternoon was further complicated by tyre strategy. For the final stint, he switched to the hard compound rather than a planned second set of mediums, though by then the deficit to the leaders was already too substantial.
"I chose two sets of mediums because we thought the hard compound wouldn't work effectively. As it turned out, the hards were the best race tyre. That choice forced me to start on scrubbed softs, which cost about two seconds right away against the drivers on new tyres ahead," he added.
Ferrari's late charge was further halted by a Virtual Safety Car period, deployed to recover Valtteri Bottas's stranded Cadillac. Armed with fresher rubber, Hamilton was eating into Verstappen's advantage by nearly a second per lap, but the neutralisation ended any hopes of a late overtake.
"Without the VSC, we probably would have had a great fight with Max in the final laps. I'm pleased with my performance behind the wheel, but it took us two full stints just to get the car to rotate properly. Once the pace returned in the final stint, the eight-to-nine-second gap to the front was just too large. We can't afford to bleed that much time in the future."
Meanwhile, Charles Leclerc secured a third consecutive podium for Ferrari, though he voiced slight frustration after crossing the line 13 seconds behind race winner Andrea Kimi Antonelli.
"It was an eventful race. The start was thrilling, as were the battles with Lando Norris and Max. At one point, I genuinely believed the win was on when I saw Kimi committing to a one-stop strategy. According to our calculations, he should have hit much heavier tyre degradation towards the end," the Monegasque driver noted.
"He didn't run into any trouble at all in the closing laps, but it was still a great race. It's just a shame we came up one step short of the win," he added after the chequered flag.
Ferrari have now gone nine consecutive Formula 1 Grands Prix without a victory. Despite recent positive momentum, Leclerc remains realistic about when their improved form will translate into a top-step finish.
"It's difficult to predict when we can convert this pace into a win because the margins are so tight. A lot will also depend on the upgrade packages other teams bring to the upcoming rounds," Leclerc explained.
"The feeling in the car is getting better and better, though. These cars are extremely sensitive and unique. Over the last two or three races, I think I've found something key in both my driving and tailoring the setup to my style. Combining those two factors has allowed us to take a clear step forward, and I feel far more confident behind the wheel."
"Hopefully that pays off soon. We were very close in Singapore, and again here in Austin. I'm fully confident we'll have a genuine shot at a win before the season is out," Leclerc concluded.
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