Lewis Hamilton has described his debut year with Ferrari as the “worst season ever” after another difficult Grand Prix weekend in Las Vegas.
In qualifying, Hamilton lost out in 20th place due to wet conditions, and Yuki Tsunoda, who was fitted with a new power unit, dropped to the pit lane, so he started 19th. Despite a strong first lap and eventually crossing the line in 10th place (promoted to 8th due to the McLaren’s post-race disqualification), Hamilton was very depressed about how the weekend had unfolded.
“It’s terrible,” Hamilton told Sky Sports. “It’s been the worst season ever. No matter how hard I try, things just keep getting worse. (I’m) trying everything in and out of the car.”
Hamilton described his climb over the field as “the most meaningless 10th place, meaning nothing”, later explaining that his pace was hampered by damage after contact with Alex Albon.
“It’s been a terrible weekend. It’s another weekend. Just add it to the list,” he said. “I really struggled. After the start, I struggled with my balance. I really struggled with the brakes that we had. The front locked up, the rear locked up. There was nothing in between. There was no middle ground.”
“I caught up with[Nico]Hulkenberg, but he was the slowest, so I wasn’t particularly fast. Then I think I did some damage in the Williams, but after that everything changed.”
“I had no idea[that Albon had been penalized]. Then I realized the balance had changed. I didn’t even know I had touched it.”
Things got even worse for Hamilton after a collision with Albon midway through the race. Rudy Kaleseborg/Getty Images
Hamilton’s struggles coincided with an overall difficult weekend for Ferrari, but team principal Fred Vasseur said there were a number of clear performances.
“Mathematically, that’s true. The last few weekends have been very difficult, against Brazil and this weekend…but overall, in terms of pure performance, I think Mexico and Austin were probably the best weekends for Luiz as well,” Vasseur said. “But that also applies to the team. In the last few weeks we haven’t been able to put everything together. That’s why we’ve taken a big step back in the mathematical aspect and in the championship. But from a pure performance standpoint, I think he realizes we’re not that bad.”
“I understand Lewis’ reaction right after the race, but he will come down to talk about it and focus on the next two, because he will be back in the next two. And keep in mind that Lewis was there in FP1 and FP3 and the pace was good. We have to build up the weekend like this, but starting from 20th is not the best way.”
