Lewis Hamilton’s message is unequivocal after victory slips through his fingers in Austin

Exhausted after a first triumph of 2022 slipped through his fingers in the closing stages of an exhilarating United States Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton was reflective as he showcased a maturity which has typified a year of adjusted targets.

While understandably disappointed that he couldn’t hold on with six laps remaining – through no fault of his own, it should be said, as his Mercedes came a cropper to the sheer speed of Max Verstappen’s Red Bull once again – the seven-time world champion had a message for the naysayers. For those who, particularly amid early-season struggles, said the 37-year-old’s best days are behind him, even calling for his retirement.

After a few seconds’ pause in talking to Sky Sports’ Rachel Brookes, he quipped: “I’m still here.”

Subtle, but stern. For a man with 103 Grand Prix victories to his name, 20 races without a first-place finish is a career-worst run. Yet in the wider frame of a season of frustration, with the Silver Arrows a clear third in the pecking order, Hamilton is all too aware that steady progress has been made. His own performances, too, have been unanimously praised across the paddock, despite a season where he is set to finish sixth in the driver standings for what would also be a new low.

Sunday’s thriller at the Circuit of the Americas was a cruel story of roles reversed for Hamilton and his team. See, there was a time, in an eight year-period of hybrid-era dominance, when the superior power and pace of Mercedes reeled in all before it. Any scenario was overcome, any mistake corrected.

Not now. Not amid a season where the RB18 designed by the genius that is Adrian Newey has overpowered all before it, with even Ferrari’s re-entry to the top tier not able to match Verstappen’s runaway train. Despite two safety cars bunching the pack and a botched pit stop, the two-time world champion hunted down and supremely passed first Charles Leclerc and then Hamilton on his way to a 13th victory of the year.

On a weekend where continued gossip surrounding Red Bull’s penalty for breaching the 2021 budget cap was overshadowed by the passing of the team’s founder and co-owner Dietrich Mateschitz, this one meant more. An afternoon in Austin which saw Red Bull pick up an inevitable constructors’ crown – their first since 2013 – was more emotional than originally anticipated.

“I had to give it everything and I pushed to the limit to come back,” Verstappen said.

“This win is definitely dedicated to Dietrich and what he has done for everyone. It definitely means a lot to me and the team, he was so important for the whole team and so instrumental.”

Verstappen still has plenty to strive for. The 25-year-old matched Michael Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel’s joint record of 13 wins in a single season on Sunday – and can overtake the German duo with victory in either Mexico, Brazil or Abu Dhabi to come. While there are now more races than ever before, that achievement should not be downplayed when you consider the way in which the Mercedes juggernaut has been bullied out on track this year.

Toto Wolff, with Mercedes facing its first winless year since 2011, finally revealed where it all went wrong in the 2022 car development.

“We understand now where we went wrong,” he said. “We can put it down to a single decision last October.”

Pressed on what that was, the Austrian added: “We thought we could run the car on the deck… but we can’t!”

Hamilton has performed admirably and resolutely in trying circumstances this year. With a win still deceiving him, and a 15-year F1 record of a victory in every season set to fall by the wayside, Hamilton has left no stone unturned in claiming seven podium places; the problems have been with the machinery, not the man.

But despite week-on-week irritation, Hamilton’s fire still burns deep. He is unwavering in his passion and determination to reach the summit again – and laid down the gauntlet to those back at base in Brackley. So much so that he unequivocally promised: “I know that when they build the car, I will take it to the top.”

Xural.com