“We’ll Be Quicker”: Lewis Hamilton Optimistic About Overthrowing Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc to Give a Shot at a Win After 2 Years

Lewis Hamilton had an excellent qualifying session at the US GP, where the 7x champ finished in the top 3. The Mercedes driver looked strong on a track where he had already won five races. With his track speed, according to Demi on X, the 38-year-old believes Mercedes’ improvements have “helped them level up pretty much everywhere.”

The Silver Arrows have brought a revised floor to this weekend’s race in Austin, which seems to have given Hamilton hope that his team might challenge Ferrari. It would finally set the tone for Lewis Hamilton to contend for his first win in the last two years.

Given that Red Bull will start from the back with Max Verstappen at P6 and Sergio Perez in P9, Hamilton might delight Silver Arrow fans on Sunday. The seven-time champion may fight both Charles Leclerc and Lando Norris, who appear to have vehicles in the catching zone of Mercedes. However, for that to happen, Hamilton will have to overcome the Ferrari challenge, as the Italian team has been in phenomenal form since the summer break.

Lewis Hamilton must overcome the Ferrari challenge to win the 104th race of his career

In comparison to 2022, Lewis Hamilton has performed better this year. The seven-time champion has remained consistent, even in the inferior W-14. Though this year the Mercedes ace has collected five podiums, he is still searching for his first win. The last time he won was back in the 2021 Saudi Arabia GP.

Nonetheless, after finishing at P3 in Austin’s qualifying, there are chances that Hamilton might vie for the win. In light of Mercedes’ recent improvements for the Austin GP, the British driver hopes that the Silver Arrows can certainly compete with Ferrari on Sunday. Behind this, the  Mercedes maestro offers a fascinating reason, claiming that Ferrari struggles more in races than in qualifying, which could help him.

While having a quick chat in his post-qualifying interview, cited on Twitter by @fiagirly, he remarked, “I think our race pace is not so bad. Ferrari often tend to run generally less wing than most people but, more often than not they struggle a little bit more in the races.”

However, Hamilton’s reasoning will take shape on Saturday, when the entire F1 community will be present for the compacted race, the sprint. Following the chaos of the Qatar GP sprint, it will be interesting to see how the shorter format plays out on Saturday.

How will Sprint decide the future of the Main United States GP?

F1 has set its sights on the year’s fifth sprint weekend, which is expected to attract plenty of spectators. However, with the conclusion of the Qatar GP sprint weekend, everyone will be curious about how the Austin track works.  While tires and heat made matters difficult for the drivers in Qatar, it will be intriguing to observe how the new tire rules will unfold the event at the Austin circuits.

Besides how the drivers will manage their fast-moving vehicles on one of the finest overtaking circuits. All these events will be hinted at today when all 20 cars line up for the shortest format of the race. Moreover, with Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez trailing at P6 and P9 respectively, the competition will initially center on three teams, Mercedes, McLaren, and Ferrari.

However, with Ferrari on pole and Mercedes implementing upgrades, it will be interesting to see if the Silver Arrows can challenge the Prancing Horse. Although, given his current form, Max Verstappen is also likely to rebound in the later laps. Nevertheless, to determine the genuine pace and quality of the track, we must wait until the sprint begins.

Hence, more than the sprint and Hamilton’s desire to win, the British driver’s rivalry with Sergio Perez will keep the weekend fascinating. Given the 30-point differential between the two, the weekend will be an actual examination for Sergio Perez.