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Lewis Hamilton had tires that were eight laps fresher and a gap of around eight and a half seconds to make up. He had been able to reel in Max Verstappen in the second stint for both drivers easily. So it did appear as if Lewis Hamilton was the favorite to win the US GP for the sixth time in his career.
Red Bull team boss Christian Horner also revealed after the race that he didn't think Max would be able to keep Lewis Hamilton behind him.
"I really didn’t think he was going to pull that off,” Horner told Sky Sports F1 after the race.
“Lewis Hamilton, with eight lap newer tires and the first set of hards that came off, we were pretty much down to the canvas. And then thinking, well, we’re not going to have much left at the end here."
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“But I think really, [key was] the way he managed that tire through the last stint to make sure he had enough for the last five or six laps.”
US GP had been a Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes' stronghold
This was surely one of the best races of the season for Max as Mercedes was expected to be the stronger car this weekend. Horner pointed that out as well when he reflected back on the result.
“This is a big one because it has been such a stronghold of Lewis and Mercedes,” he said. “To get the pole was a landmark moment for us yesterday, and then to convert it into a win even though we weren’t leading at the end of the first lap.
“So it was a great team performance because on Friday in first practice we were on the back foot and it looked like it would be a tough weekend, but the whole team worked very hard to turn it around.”
A win at the US GP surely turns things around for Red Bull. It gives Max a 12-point advantage in the championship with the next two tracks in Mexico and Brazil expected to be Red Bull strongholds.
It will be interesting to see the twists and turns the championship takes now with just five races left. But it does appear that Lewis Hamilton might just be on his way to vacate the throne for Max Verstappen as the next successor.
