“I Hate Losing”: As Toto Wolff Reacts Boldly, Lewis Hamilton Looks at Silver Lining Amid US GP Chaos

For two seasons, Lewis Hamilton has been desperate to get a sniff at another Formula 1 win. For two years, his tally of a record 103 race wins has stayed stagnant. While his teammate may have ended Mercedes’ glory drought at the 2022 Brazilian GP, Hamilton has been gunning for his own victory. Many believed that could’ve come at the Singapore GP this year. It was a sniff of victory with Red Bull struggling. But that was all it was. A sniff. At the US GP, though, that sniff became an actual belief. Until it wasn’t.

F1’s trip to the Circuit of The Americas every season never disappoints. 2023 was no different. Double the racing action owing to the Sprint format gave Hamilton—the most successful driver in COTA—double the chances to impress. After a P2 in the Sprint, the seven-time champion looked to emulate that same performance in the race. And that’s precisely what he did, only to fall prey to the chaos that ensued after.

Lewis Hamilton is looking at the bigger picture

After the first half of the season, finishing a race within 10 seconds of Max Verstappen in P1 seemed unfathomable to almost everyone. But after the break, Mercedes, Ferrari, and McLaren have taken considerable steps to close the gap. While Singapore was written off as a blip in Red Bull’s otherwise flawless season, Hamilton and Mercedes’ heroics at the US GP were all on merit. Despite the slow pit stops that left Hamilton more than six seconds behind Lando Norris in P2 in the final stint, he got past the young Brit and was right on Verstappen’s tail in the last two laps. He was actually challenging for the win.

Although it was in some part due to the brake issues Verstappen struggled with, Mercedes’ race pace was brilliant throughout the weekend. Had it been for one or two more laps, the seven-time champion would’ve had 104 wins. But he had to settle for P2. Or so he thought. The race ended on a good note for Hamilton, finishing less than three seconds behind Verstappen, but race day ended on a bad one. The FIA scrutinized his car and found that his plankboard on the floor was more worn out than the legal limit. As a result, he was disqualified.

Considering that Mercedes should’ve kept a close eye on this, Team principal Toto Wolff reflected on the situation. He said, “We need to take the positives. I hate losing races, and the whole team is in pain. But, this is a circuit where, a few races [ago], we wouldn’t have performed because of those fast sweeping corners. Where we were miserable in Suzuka, we were well here.” Hamilton echoed his boss’ comments and looked at the silver lining. He said, “I feel positive as we’re moving forward, even if reflecting on it, we could have possibly won today. It is, of course, disappointing to be disqualified post-race, but that doesn’t take away from the progress we’ve made this weekend.”

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Mercedes introduced a new floor in Austin, and from the looks of it, it’s worked well. This also points to positive signs for 2024, a belief that Mercedes can win again. It’s the same belief that compelled Hamilton to echo Wolff’s feelings about losing.

Hamilton is committed to making Mercedes champions again

Hamilton is 38. At the Italian GP this season, he announced a two-year contract extension with Mercedes, which would ensure he’s still in F1 after he turns 40. This came after he stated multiple times that he wouldn’t want to stay in F1 after he turned 40. But he has unfinished business to take care of and won’t quit until he’s sorted that out. At least, that’s what he said in an interview after the contract announcement.

“I’ve been here a long time, but I can’t sacrifice less than these young guys. I have to train harder because it takes longer to recover,” said Hamilton. “There are times where you’re like, ‘Maybe I just want to go and chill on the beach and just live a normal life.’ But that’s never going to be me. Being as competitive as I am, to this day, I still have that competitive fight within me. I still hate losing like ever before. I love getting in the car, strapping up, and then getting out there on track and trying to put it on the edge. I’m willing to commit the time that it takes to be great. I’m going to keep going.” 

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How do you think Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes will do in the remaining races? Can the seven-time champion still achieve a P2 finish despite losing out to Sergio Perez because of his disqualification?