Lewis Hamilton attempted to keep the team spirit alive at Ferrari ahead of the Las Vegas Grand Prix, after a difficult weekend for the seven-time F1 champion.
A wet and cool qualifying stood between Hamilton and a Q2 appearance in Las Vegas, with the Ferrari star being knocked out of the first session and starting the grand prix from 19th after he had struggled to get his tyres up to temperature.
Hamilton initially surged through the field during the opening laps of the race, but soon struggled behind the Haas of Esteban Ocon as he hovered outside of the points paying positions.
The Brit then was involved in a collision with Alex Albon, after the Williams driver attempted to reclaim a position at Turn 14 and was awarded a five-second time penalty by the stewards.
Hamilton’s Las Vegas GP
In the end, Hamilton finished 10th, behind Nico Hulkenberg and Isack Hadjar.
Hamilton was later promoted up to eighth following a double disqualification for McLaren, but it was nonetheless a disappointing result for the Ferrari star.
No doubt, Hamilton’s qualifying performance on Friday would have weakened morale on his side of the garage, but the Brit attempted to bolster his team with a heartwarming message before the race.
“With every challenge, there’s an opportunity lads…I’ll do my best to come through and make up for it. Thank you for always understanding and being so supportive,” he said over team radio.
The message demonstrates Hamilton’s commitment to unity at Ferrari, weeks on from chairman John Elkann’s infamous comments where he prompted his drivers to ‘talk less’ and focus on driving.
Since the advent of the Las Vegas GP weekend, both team and drivers have been determined to present a united front, but undoubtedly their result on Saturday night will lead to more questions being asked at the team.
Charles Leclerc only managed sixth place (fourth after the disqualifications), with Ferrari falling even further behind Mercedes in the battle for second in the constructors’ championship, now a major 53 points away.