"Was I just too slow?”: Lewis Hamilton's shocked reaction to the deficit to Charles Leclerc in the F1 US GP

Lewis Hamilton had a shocking reaction to his deficit to Charles Leclerc at the United States GP. Reacting to the massive 13-second difference at the end of the race, Hamilton was surprised as he asked about the deficit on his team radio.

Having started his race from P5, Hamilton came home in P4, as he improved a place and overtook Oscar Piastri. However, he was still behind his teammate, Charles Leclerc, who started from P3.

Even though Hamilton finished behind Leclerc, there was a time during the race when the two drivers were battling for positions before Ferrari brought Leclerc to the pit. Even after both drivers pitted, they did not have much difference between each other.

In the end, Leclerc finished the race behind race winner Max Verstappen and Lando Norris (P2), while Hamilton finished behind him. The gap between the two drivers were a little over 13 seconds, and this was when the seven-time world champion shared a shocking reaction.

Taking to his radio, the British driver asked his race engineer:

"My question was… I was just behind him before. Now I’m 10 seconds behind him. Was I just too slow???”

Notably, Lewis Hamilton has been playing a second fiddle to Charles Leclerc throughout the 2025 season, as he has yet to become the top driver at Ferrari. Besides the only Sprint win in China, Hamilton does not have anything to show for, whereas Leclerc has six podiums to his name.

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Lewis Hamilton reached a milestone at US GP

Lewis Hamilton became the first driver in F1 history to reach the milestone of 5000 points. Thanks to his P4 at the US GP at the Circuit of The Americas, he reached a staggering 5004.5 points.

Lewis Hamilton of Great Britain driving the (44) Scuderia Ferrari SF-25 in the Pitlane during the F1 Grand Prix of United States - Source: Getty

With seven F1 titles, 105 wins, 104 poles, and 202 podiums, Hamilton is the most successful F1 driver ever. He raced 375 times for teams like McLaren, Mercedes, and Ferrari.

He made his debut for the Papayas back in 2007 and raced with them till 2012. In 2013, he moved to Mercedes and stayed there for 12 years, winning six titles and 84 races. In 2025, he moved to Ferrari under a multi-year deal to race alongside Charles Leclerc.

Edited by Sabyasachi Biswas