In 2007, a young rookie named Lewis Hamilton set the paddock burning. He joined McLaren after a promising junior career. However, nobody could have expected what unfolded that year. Hamilton in his first year in Formula 1, almost took the championship from seasoned drivers like Kimi Raikkonen, and Fernando Alonso. Held back with just a single point, the Briton’s rookie year is for the history books. Now, a seven-time world champion, he has not stood on the highest podium step since 2021. It would be an understatement to say that TeamLH has been longing to hear “And through goes Hamilton.” But with the resurgence of the Briton in the top three qualifiers at the US Grand Prix, fans are budding with hope.

The Mercedes development program fell off during the 2022 season. Almost as if in mourning for Hamilton’s championship loss, the W13 had a bouncy start to the year. Based on its predecessor’s blueprint, W14 was no less bad in pre-season testing in 2023. However, since Monaco upgrades Mercedes has been crawling towards consolidating their position in the Constructors’ Championship behind Red Bull.

As teams unveiled their Texas edition liveries, Mercedes unveiled a new floor. Although the upgrade was dismissed as insignificant, Hamilton has found a strong foothold at the Circuit of The Americas. With a promising practice session and an encouraging qualifying in Austin, the Briton has instilled anticipation in his fans.

The red carpet has unfolded at the Circuit of The Americas. The unexpected qualifying order has caused Twitter to implode in praise and excitement for the most successful driver of the circuit.

“We’re coming back,” fans hopeful for Lewis Hamilton resurgence at US GP

Although, the Mercedes Technical director, James Allison, admitted that the floor upgrade is not ‘transformative’, Hamilton feels otherwise. Finishing 0.139 seconds behind Charles Leclerc, the seven-time world champion confessed that the tenth-of-a-second upgrade materialized in Austin and was uplifting.

Lewis Hamilton went from fighting the car at the beginning of the season to fighting for a win at the US GP. Although 103 wins is no small feat, it has been over two years since Hamilton took a win in a race. His fans, yearning for the Briton to finish first, can now look forward to the US Grand Prix as he starts third behind Lando Norris and Charles Leclerc.

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James Allison returned to the Mercedes camp in 2023, two years after he was replaced by Mike Elliott. Unfortunately, no significant improvements were brought by the latter. Rather, the performance of the cars deteriorated. Fans took notice of the leadership change and hailed Allison as a brilliant addition.

Formula 1 is a place for fast racers, brilliant engineers, and commanding leaders. Adrian Newey is one of the most brilliant minds in motorsports. However, as the Red Bull drivers failed to qualify for P5 and above, the Mercedes Technical director’s praises were sung on Twitter as the two silver arrows beat the Bulls.

Although the floor upgrade was brought to understand the developments for W15, the improvement in performance was a welcome by-product. Fans resonated with excitement for the 2024 season.

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The significance of the upgrades can only be determined post-Sunday with the sprint race and the main race to go. However, for the man and his fans who haven’t seen a victory celebration in over two years, the slight improvement is a huge deal. Do you think Hamilton can win at Austin?