Lewis Hamilton at the FIA press conference on Thursday - Photo: Race Pictures

Ferrari has showed up at COTA, Hamilton senses his chance

15:22, 19 Oct

Updated: 16:50, 19 Oct

byNorberto Mujica

The connection between Lewis Hamilton and the Circuit of the Americas, can't be proven or denied, but Ferrari's sudden pace swing makes the Briton believe in the possibility of him clinching his first podium finish for Ferrari.

It's taken me forever. It's not for the lack of trying but yeah I'm gonna give it absolutely everything.

- Lewis Hamilton about reaching the podium with Ferrari

When looking for a merrier hunting ground for Hamilton than COTA, one has to really look, only to find a few exceptions like that Hungarian or the Australian Grands Prix.

After a year where luck didn't matter because the pace was seldom there, or when the speed was in the car but luck was nowhere to be seen, now things seem to be clicking for the Briton and Ferrari, despite a few set up snags.

He said to F1TV: "We had a big improvement compared to yesterday. And so I'm really really happy, I'm really grateful to the guys in the garage because we made some changes going into the session.

"The car still wasn't quite right throughout qualifying and I had massive understeer from the beginning so bit by bit I was adding and adding [front] wing [load].

Lewis Hamilton driving the SF-25 in Austin - Photo: Race Pictures

"So the car kind of wasn't exactly where I needed it at the beginning and towards the end it got a little bit better, but it's almost too late that you learn that you get that confidence."

After complimenting Ferrari for the optimasation of their in session processes, and the "real step" forward the Briton believes the Scuderia took, he reaffirmed his chances of getting a podium at the U.S GP.

"That's the closest I've been [to scoring a podium] in God knows how long I don't know. Yeah it's taken me forever to like [get a top 3 finish], it's not for the lack of trying but yeah I'm gonna give it absolutely everything to try and get there tomorrow," Hamilton concluded.

Ferrari's big pace swing surprises Leclerc

It seemed like it would not happen for the Scuderia given how far away they were from the leaders in the Sprint qualifying, and then again struggling to make it past Q1 and Q2.

But in Q3 the SF-25 came alive and proved to be quick enough to even fight for pole, claimed Hamilton's teammate Leclerc, who was also surprised by the performance gain made.

GPblog's latest F1 Paddock Update

Want to stay up-to-date with what happens in the F1 paddock? Then GPblog's F1 Paddock Update video is the perfect way to do it. Subscribe to GPblog's YouTube channel and turn on notifications to never miss the latest episodes.