Hamilton: “Petrified that the car won’t make it to the end”

Signing his 50th career success, Lewis Hamilton achieved what he owed to Austin to still believe in a possible fourth world title. Now separated from his teammate Nico Rosberg by 26 points, Hamilton intends to continue the momentum that carried him throughout the Texas weekend.

However, if the victory won yesterday in the United States may have seemed easy from the outside, it was with a real sword of Damocles that the Briton concluded his race yesterday on the Circuit of the Americas.

“Honestly, the whole race, I was petrified that the car wouldn't make it, admitted the World Champion in the paddock. I am haunted by the sound I heard in Malaysia. Losing power, the gearbox giving up the ghost, a gear failing... This clearly weighed on me throughout the race. This didn't help, and the race was very long today. »

The Briton was in fact forced to retire at Sepang, even though he had won the race, with an engine problem interrupting his progress towards victory in Malaysia.

Hamilton, however, had an almost perfect weekend in Texas, compiling pole position and victory, only disrupted by a fuel system change, after Friday's free practice.

Find the full report and analysis of the United States Grand Prix, produced by our special correspondents in Austin, in issue 2086 of AUTOhebdo, available this evening in digital version, and this Wednesday on newsstands.