Lewis Hamilton finished fourth at the United States Grand Prix, and his post-race verdict was clear: balance, more than anything else, cost him a podium. Ferrari left Austin with strong points after Charles Leclerc took second, but Hamilton said his own race was shaped by starting on the back foot and never quite finding the right feel in the car.
Ferrari had arrived at Circuit of The Americas with upgrades and looked promising throughout Friday and Saturday. Hamilton and Leclerc topped the practice sessions on both days, only for rivals to improve when it mattered in qualifying. Hamilton lined up fourth, with Leclerc fifth behind the two Red Bulls and Kimi Antonelli on pole, and that setup helped shape the story of Sunday.
Hamilton: balance was the real problem
Hamilton said the race became difficult early because he did not have a new tyre to start on, leaving him at a disadvantage compared with the cars ahead. He also pointed to a first stint in which he had more degradation than those around him, saying the difference between a new tyre and a used tyre was about two seconds of race pace.
That is the key point in understanding why the podium slipped away. Hamilton was not describing a simple lack of speed; he was describing a car that would not let him extract what he needed from it. In his own words, the balance was off, and he said he could not keep up with Leclerc because the Ferrari on the other side of the garage had much more front wing and could turn the car better.
Hamilton still praised Ferrari for the work done in the pit lane and on strategy, but the race left him believing there was more to find from the package. He said he needs to extract more from the car in the next couple of races and believes he can be quicker if the set-up is right.
Leclerc and Ferrari deliver the points
While Hamilton was left frustrated, Leclerc produced the stronger Ferrari result. He finished second after passing Max Verstappen late on and described the race as good, saying he enjoyed the battles with Verstappen and later with Lando Norris as well.
Leclerc also credited the one-stop strategy that helped shape the race, noting that Mercedes saw something that maybe Red Bull and he had not seriously considered. Kimi Antonelli made that approach work very nicely on the way to victory, but Leclerc still emerged as Ferrari's leading man on the day.
For Ferrari, the wider picture remains positive. Hamilton said Leclerc's weekend was important for points and that staying ahead of McLaren means Ferrari can keep second in the Constructors' Championship. That is the bigger takeaway from Austin: one driver left feeling the cost of a poor balance window, while the team still walked away with a result that matters in the standings.
The next couple of races will tell the full story. Ferrari have shown they can be sharp across a weekend, but Hamilton will want a car that lets him fight at the front from the start rather than chase the race once it is already under way.
