Mercedes Admit To Mistake By Not Pitting Hamilton During US Grand Prix
F1
Mercedes F1 team acknowledged their strategic mistake after the 2023 United States Grand Prix, where Lewis Hamilton missed the first place by 2.2 seconds.
Lewis Hamilton showed an improved performance in Austin after Mercedes brought upgrades to the Circuit of the Americas. The seven-time world champion qualified third twice and finished both races in second place.
Mercedes might have been aiming for the race victory as Hamilton's place turned out to be matching the pace of race leader Max Verstappen on Red Bull. Mercedes technical director James Alison reflected:
"We should have pitted Lewis, we should have kept ahead, and we would have given ourselves a better chance of the win had we done so. But it’s good to understand where we were coming from, and also understand a bit more of the strategists’ dilemma."
Alison mentioned the team expected the race to be a two-stop one. However, the only leading team that clearly went for two stops from the beginning was Red Bull.
"We thought that it was most likely a two-stop. We thought it would most likely be a race where the tire degradation was high enough. Admittedly, we also didn't rule out that it would all be a bit more favorable."
The seven-time World Champion showed a decent pace in the first stint, which made it seem like one-stop might be a feasible strategy.
"Eventually, we saw the lap times, and we thought we could make it a one-stop. The first stint was good. We were able to overtake those two Ferraris, going at a pace that was on par with Max and a little bit quicker than the McLarens."
The first of the leading drivers to pit was Max Verstappen. Going on fresher tires earlier would result in an undercut on Hamilton, but the Mercedes did not react by pitting the number 44 driver.
"When Max came in for his stop, we knew he would undercut us a few laps later. That wasn't a surprise. But we were in a period of optimism."
As Alison explained, Mercedes strategists did not think Hamilton could beat Verstappen by repeating the same strategy as the Dutchman showed a better pace in the sprint race on Saturday.
"We weren't going to beat Max by doing the same thing as him, because after the sprint race we knew he was quicker than us. But if we could make a one-stop work then we could beat them. That's why we didn't react to Max right away."
The result did of course not matter in the end as Hamilton got disqualified a few hours after the end of the United States Grand Prix. On the other hand, the surprising pace in comparison to Verstappen gives Mercedes hope going into the next races.
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