Hamilton had impossible task: 'Mercedes is far too sensitive for that'

Max Verstappen led the United States Grand Prix for a long time on Sunday afternoon, but at the end of the race Lewis Hamilton suddenly approached. It created tension at Red Bull, although Christijan Albers already saw Verstappen's victory coming.

"The problem is that Mercedes is far too sensitive to turbulence, in other words the foul air from the car in front of you," Albers explains his position in De Telegraaf's Formula 1 podcast. "If you start looking at the sectors and the fast corners, there was just no possibility for Mercedes. Then at a certain point you see that Lewis can't get there anymore. He just lost too much downforce."

Although Hamilton did everything he could in the final laps to keep up with Verstappen, the Briton was apparently a few laps short of actually making things difficult for his rival. According to Albers, however, he would not have stood a chance. "You can see that Red Bull's car is a lot less sensitive to this. That's why I saw beforehand that it wasn't going to be for Mercedes."

Thanks to his victory in America, Verstappen increased his lead over Hamilton to twelve points. The drivers still have five races to go, with the Mexican GP two weeks away.