Hamilton Admits Mistake After Race In Mexico City: 'My Fault'

Wednesday, 30 October 2024 at 15:33

Lewis Hamilton was happy with the result of the 2024 Mexico City Grand Prix, but he admitted he had made a crucial mistake.

Mercedes F1 driver Lewis Hamilton wasn't too happy following the Qualifying session at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez where he placed in P6 with a time 0,705 seconds slower from the pole sitter (and later race winner) Carlos Sainz.

The seven-time World Champion asserted he didn't have much hope of making progress further up the grid in the race as he felt like Mercedes lacked too much pace compared to their competitors.

Ultimately, Hamilton crossed the finish line in P5, two places up from his original starting position. Speaking to Sky Sports F1 after the Grand Prix, the 39-year-old suggested he was satisfied with this result.

"Firstly, really good to get fourth and fifth. I'm happy that I was able to move forward and just have a better weekend than the last and see it through all the way to the end of the race and get those points."

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After the start, Hamilton quickly gained a position on his teammate George Russell, but he lacked the pace compared to the 26-year-old in the first stint, and on lap 15, Russell took his position back.

The seven-time World Champion explained after the Grand Prix that the main reason for the lack of pace in the car during the first stint was his mistake in the setup choice.

"I'm really grateful for that and happy with the performance in general. I got a good start, and then I had a lot of understeer because... my fault, but I took too much front wing out of the car."

"And I had knocked out the front tires basically in that first stint. And after the changes, after the pit stop, [it was] much, much better."

Fortunately for Hamilton, his team was able to make some quick changes to the front wing during the pit stop and he later caught up with and re-overtook Russell to take the P5.

The 26-year-old Mercedes driver had a car with the older setup throughout the whole weekend, so Hamilton looks forward to the learnings his team can get from the direct comparison.

"But it was a really, really insightful and informative race because I could feel exactly where the car was working and where it was not."

"It is very, very clear in my mind where the car is giving up, and I could see the difference between George and I when I'm behind."

"So it will be interesting to see... they have now all of this information from both of our cars running. So good points, good data for both of us, and hopefully [it will] put us in a better position for the next race."