'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Mercedes Trackside Engineering Director Andrew Shovlin claimed that the setup changes cost Lewis Hamilton as the F1 legend failed to get out of the Q1 during the US Grand Prix qualifying on Saturday. The 39-year-old is the most successful driver at the Circuit of the Americas, with five wins, that came in 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017.
Despite struggling in 2022 and 2023, he was also in contention for race wins in both years and wrung the neck of his car. However, Hamilton, who has not qualified out of the top 5 at the track, could not replicate his magic on Saturday as he failed to qualify for Q2 and finished the session in P19 after his last lap in Q1 was deleted.
On Mercedes's official website, Shovlin explained that Lewis Hamilton suffered some issues with his W15 and that compelled them to change the setup and said:
"We also found a broken part on Lewis' front suspension post Sprint and that definitely impacted the overall balance. In an effort to get the car back to the sweet spot we had on Friday, we made some set-up adjustments ahead of Qualifying.
"Sadly these didn't have the desired effect. A consistent balance continued to elude Lewis although he was unfortunate to be knocked out in Q1 having been impacted by traffic in sector one," Shovlin added.
Lewis Hamilton analyzes his Q1 exit from the US GP qualifying
Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton stated that it was a "tough day" for him as the W15 failed to perform in the hot conditions in the Sprint and the setup changes ahead of the qualifying did not yield the desired results.
As quoted by the source above, the seven-time world champion said:
"The Sprint was a difficult session for us with the car not feeling as strong as it did yesterday. The temperature was warmer than on Friday and that didn’t seem to suit us. We made some changes ahead of Qualifying to counteract that and try to push us in a direction that could get the car closer to how it felt on Friday, but we continued to struggle.
"Tomorrow will be difficult for us starting P19. It will be hard to come across opportunities, but I will be giving it my all to move forward," the Brit added.
Lewis Hamilton further claimed that the W15 "suffered from an inconsistent balance and a lack of grip so hopefully, it will be in a better place on Sunday."
The 39-year-old had also offered to start from the pitlane and give his upgrades to his teammate George Russell, who would start the race from P6. Given his pace in the Sprint race on Saturday, it would be an uphill task for the Mercedes driver to score some good points from the weekend.
