Lewis Hamilton left the race frustrated after hope faded after the US Grand Prix sprint race

Lewis Hamilton, seven-time Formula 1 world champion, is frustrated after the US Grand Prix sprint race. Although the legendary driver briefly moved up the field from his starting position, he ultimately finished a disappointing sixth place and immediately admitted after the season that he was unhappy with the performance of his Mercedes W15.

The sprint race didn't leave much to the imagination for Hamilton, which is a concern for the rest of the weekend with qualifying and the Grand Prix looming. His experience in the race, coupled with his historically high standards at this track, must have added to his frustration.

The sprint race served as a precursor to what Hamilton hoped would be a promising performance, but the results suggested the opposite.

“As far as the sprint race goes, it certainly gives us no hope! But yesterday it felt pretty good,” he said of Formula 1. The British driver is constantly fighting to keep up with the W15. His tendency to oversteer only hindered Hamilton's performance
This is exacerbated by the fact that the car usually behaves for him during training sessions.

“I really don’t know, the car just oversteered massively in that session, which was very strange,” he continued.

Historically, Hamilton has faced similar obstacles over the course of the season driving the Mercedes W15. Oversteer and understeer issues were a recurring problem for him and tested his ability to maintain consistent performance. Hamilton had been struggling with porpoises since ground effect regulations began in 2022 and appeared to have lost faith in the Brackley team. Although they pretty much fixed the car, there were miscalculations that pushed him to join Ferrari in 2025.

George Russell, Hamilton's teammate, also spoke out about a lack of performance during the sprint race, revealing an issue that highlighted the inherent challenges facing the Mercedes team. Despite starting second on the grid, Russell was quickly challenged, overtaken by Lando Norris and then overtaken by Ferrari drivers Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc, resulting in a fifth place finish.

As Russell reflected on the race, he noticed his car's surprising drop in power.

“Yeah, I was honestly really surprised.

“I felt really strong in laps 2 to 6 and was fighting with Lando – I probably should have passed him when I had the chance, so I didn't do the best job then.”

“Suddenly on the next lap my tires were completely destroyed, the Ferraris passed me as if I was standing still,” he continued. “I thought I had misunderstood the setup but I spoke to Lewis and he had the exact opposite problem, his rear wheels were gone, so clearly we need to understand something.”

Despite this disappointment, Mercedes has worked diligently on the W15 and brought planned upgrades to the Circuit of the Americas. But as we always say, bringing upgrades is very different than understanding how to use them on the track. Perhaps they can put in a more balanced performance for today's qualifying session, with parc ferme now released between events.