Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff says that Lewis Hamilton will need time to move on since Max Verstappen defeated him at the US GP.
Max Verstappen started the race on pole but gave up the lead on Lap 1 to Lewis Hamilton after running out of room in the first corner. After that, the game of strategies and gambles ultimately paid off for the Red Bull driver.
Red Bull opted for an aggressive two-stop strategy that left Max with much older tires than Hamilton’s in the race’s closing stages.
The Mercedes driver came very close to snatching the win from Verstappen in the last few laps, but he just about held him off. This was Verstappen’s first win in the US.
Graining issues with the newer tires and dirty air made it difficult for the seven-time World Champion to get close to his title rival. It was a tough pill to swallow for the Silver Arrows. They felt that their strategy to have Hamilton on fresher tires would work, but to their disappointment, it didn’t.
Red Bull fully deserved the win today, says Toto Wolff
“We have to both get over it and that’s gonna take 30 minutes. The car was just not quick enough on the mediums.”, said Wolff. “They went for a super aggressive first stop. That was bold, we did that in Bahrain.”
“They then covered it in the second stint and we thought that was enough to get them but they deserved to win today,” he added. The result saw Max Verstappen double his points advantage over Lewis Hamilton in the standings. The 24-year-old is now 12 points clear at the summit.
Mercedes have two weeks to get over this result. The next round of the Formula 1 Championship takes place at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez in Mexico City.
This track has always been a favourable one for Red Bull, so the Brackley based team have to be at their best come next race weekend.
