Lewis Hamilton admits: “Red Bull Racing has taught me a lesson”

Isack Hadjar surprised everyone by stating that the Red Bull Racing car wasn’t the fastest in Singapore – even though his team-mate Max Verstappen drove from pole to victory in both the Sprint and the Grand Prix. “The car is still difficult to drive. It was dominant in Malaysia, but I don’t think we had the fastest car in Singapore. That’s my conviction. If you’d put Max in a Ferrari, he would have won the race by a bigger margin. I think the Ferrari was the fastest car in Singapore,” explained the Frenchman.

Naturally, both Ferrari stars were asked about this, and Charles Leclerc immediately dismissed the suggestion. He described the statement as nonsense, arguing that Hadjar couldn’t possibly know how good the red racer from Maranello is – just as Leclerc couldn’t know how strong Hadjar’s RB22 is.

Lewis Hamilton’s response was somewhat more detailed: “First and foremost, I want to make it clear that, in my eyes, Isack is an outstanding driver. But we have different opinions on this matter. Ultimately, they’ve done an incredible job. Red Bull Racing has been doing this for many, many years. And they never cease to amaze me.”

“I’m full of admiration for this team. When I was younger, I was convinced that there was no way they could achieve what other, long-established teams like McLaren or Ferrari had managed. But they have, and so Red Bull Racing has proved me wrong. And they’ve celebrated many wonderful successes over the years,” praised the seven-time world champion.

Lewis Hamilton: Ferrari lagging far behind on the straights

“When it came to the engine, too, I thought they certainly wouldn’t be able to build a better engine than Mercedes and Ferrari, and once again I – and everyone else – was proven wrong. They’ve built the best internal combustion engine. The start of the season obviously didn’t go smoothly. But they have a brilliant car and very strong drivers. And it’s also clear that they have brilliant team management. It’s going to be very tough to hold our own against them. In Singapore, they were as fast as us in every corner, and that was our strength. On top of that, they’re three or four tenths faster on the straights,” the Briton continued.

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He doesn’t expect the balance of power to shift either, given the upgrade from Maranello that the Scuderia is bringing to the track in Austin: “We have a very small upgrade here, worth less than a tenth; it might bring us half a tenth of a second. That’s why I don’t expect us to be able to make up for our deficit on the straights with it. But perhaps the circuit suits us particularly well and they’ll have a difficult weekend. Perhaps Mercedes will get it wrong too, and in that case we’ll be ready to strike.”