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Hamilton blames pre-race issue for weakened performance in Austin

Hamilton blames pre-race issue for weakened performance in Austin

22-10-2018 18:05
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Before the start of the race, both Mercedes cars were in bits. The engineers were working hard to solve some problems. While they managed to get both Silver Arrows on to the track, Lewis Hamilton blames these problems for his third-place finish.

The Brit could have won the Championship yesterday. If he had won the race, Hamilton would have been crowned champion because of Sebastian Vettel's fourth-place result. In an interview today, Hamilton blames a pre-race issue for the 'poorer' result.

"My whole car lay in millions of pieces on the ground when I came into the garage on Sunday," Hamilton told the media in Austin.

"I think that if that had not been the case, we would have achieved another result in the race. But it was not only that but also damage to my floor after I had driven over some parts.

"You lose a few tenths quickly because of that damage. We also noticed another problem, but we do not know how much time we lost as a result."

With his tyres fading away, Hamilton was forced to pit towards the end of the race. The gap between himself and Verstappen was large but he managed to catch up. Upon arrival, he couldn't get past and had to settle for P3. He now heads south to Mexico where he is more likely to win the title.