P1racenews AI automatic summary:
Lewis Hamilton’s disqualification from second place at Austin took much of the momentum out of his pursuit of an unlikely success – one that would’ve nicely framed the quality of his season
In a different scenario where the margins were slightly in his favor, Lewis Hamilton would be heading to the Mexican Grand Prix with the possibility of achieving second place. However, finishing second to Max Verstappen in both the sprint and grand prix in the United States widened the gap between Hamilton and the dominant champion to a significant 247 points, while his teammate Sergio Perez was only 19 points ahead. This highlights the impressive performance of Verstappen and the quality of his Red Bull car, but also emphasizes the underperformance of Perez compared to his car’s potential. Hamilton had a strong season overall and had a chance to snatch second place, but a disqualification in Austin for his Mercedes failing a post-race check has diminished his hopes. With only four races left, it would require a significant swing for Hamilton to overtake Perez and split the Red Bulls. Although finishing second may not be Hamilton’s primary goal, it would still be a notable personal achievement in the context of a challenging couple of seasons.
Source: The Race
