Hamilton Urges Team To Improve Pitstops And Strategy With First Win Since 2021 In Sight

F1
Friday, 27 October 2023 at 13:00
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Mercedes F1 driver Lewis Hamilton mentioned Mercedes needs to "pick up" some areas, like pit stops, ahead of the 2023 Mexico City Grand Prix.
Even though Lewis Hamilton rarely mentions it, he currently stands third in the Drivers' Championship. He would have only 19 points behind Sergio Perez had he not been disqualified after the United States Grand Prix.
After the disqualification and deletion of his acquired points, the gap with the Mexican driver grew to 39 points. On the other hand, what Hamilton cares about more is fighting for the race wins and challenging for the title next year.
The seven-time World Champion seemed more positive after Mercedes brought new upgrades to Austin, which allowed him to get close enough to Max Verstappen to challenge him for the race lead.
The 38-year-old seemingly gained more confidence and new hope as he told media ahead of the Mexico City Grand Prix: "Feel really positive because we've still got a few races up ahead."
"I don't know how the car's going to be in these next races but if we're in a position like this and we get the strategy right and we get the pit-stop right, maybe we'll be right on their tails and looking at some good racing. So I'm excited."
The pace of Mercedes in the hands of Lewis Hamilton in the last laps of the race at Circuit of the Americas seems really promising for all Mercedes fans.
Mercedes driver closed the gap to the Flying Dutchman in the lead to almost one second during the last two laps of the race. As Helmut Marko said, it could have been more troublesome for Verstappen if the race was five laps longer.
What might have made the during the race difference was Mercedes's long pit stops, which lost Hamilton over a second compared to the Red Bull driver. The seven-time World Champion told SkySports F1:
"We need to pick up on some of the areas, like our pit stops were not spectacular this weekend and strategy, for the next races. Maybe we can be closer to these [Red Bull] guys."