- Hamilton is coming towards the end of time with Mercedes before Ferrari move
- He struggled to keep his car on the track during practice in the States on Friday
- The Brit qualified in seventh for the sprint race with Lando Norris in fourth
Lewis Hamilton worryingly span out of control in his Mercedes during practice for the United States Grand Prix.
Formula One is back this weekend from a season break lasting four weeks, with drivers looking to impress and plenty to play for in the final six races of the 2024 season.
Among those is Hamilton, who will be seeing out his final few races as a Mercedes driver in a stint that has lasted 11 years and seen the Brit win six world championship titles.
He will join Ferrari next year, but this term is eyeing up a positive finish to the campaign. He is sixth in the driver standings, but is eyeing up a top five spot and will have to overtake Carlos Sainz – the driver whose seat he is taking next year at Ferrari – to do so.
This weekend could go a long way to doing that, but things didn’t go to plan during practice on Friday when the veteran lost control of his car on track.
Hamilton managed to keep himself out of the barriers, but did lose control at turn four of the track in Austin, Texas.
‘When I come in you have to check those damn tyres,’ Hamilton said on his team radio after the incident. ‘And check the floor.’
He’s not the only driver who has had issues in practice, though, with his Mercedes team-mate, fellow Brit George Russell, also struggling on the same corner.
Russell had complained of issues on the corner, but span on turn one, causing a yellow flag.
There is a bump located in the corner at turn four, while there is also a curb that can cause issues with the floors of the cars.
Qualifying will get underway on Saturday, with big implications on the vent ahead of the highly-anticipated Sunday race. Sprint qualifying took place on Friday.
Lando Norris and Max Verstappen are locked in a battle to win the championship, with the Dutchman 52 points ahead of his rival and friend.
Verstappen is favourite to win a fourth championship, but Norris is the man in form and dominated in the last race before the break in Singapore.
Norris has said he is ‘quite relaxed’ in the battle, but knows he will almost definitely have to win every race to have a shot at glory.
In qualifying for the sprint race, Norris lined up fourth with Verstappen on pole.
