Former F1 World Champion Damon Hill feels that Lewis Hamilton gave the race away to Max Verstappen following his comments on the team radio.
Hamilton took the lead from the Red Bull driver despite starting second in the first lap. However, the British driver failed to capitalize on his move as he struggled to create distance between himself and Verstappen. It was then that Lewis told his team on the radio that he was struggling for pace on track.
Following the radio message, Verstappen decided to go for an aggressive tire strategy. It was seen as a gamble, but it paid off for the 24-year-old driver in the end as he took home his 8th race win of the season.
Damon Hill, who won the F1 Championship with Williams in 1996, thinks that Hamilton gave the game away with his radio message.
I was very surprised with Lewis’ radio message, says Hill
“It was a terrific race because it was so finely balanced all the way through,” he told the F1 Nation podcast. “And there’s a little bit of gamesmanship with some of those radio calls.
“I was surprised Lewis was on the radio saying ‘I can’t keep up the pace’, as he does sometimes. You think ‘why are you giving the game away?’ Then Max was saying ‘I can see him sliding around’ and then pitted and completely outfoxed Mercedes.”
“Max got track position back from his pole position that he lost in effect, then controlled a very, very tight race. It was thrilling from beginning to end.”
Lewis Hamilton has admitted that mistakes in strategy have led to him dropping many points this season. “It could be better in the sense we’ve dropped points, we’ve not always been perfect. But you live and learn. I feel like things have happened the way they have for a reason – we’ve learned a lot.”
Max Verstappen’s victory in Texas means that the Dutchman is now 12 points ahead of Hamilton in the standings. In the next round, Formula 1 sees the sport return to the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez in Mexico City after a year’s hiatus.
