MAYBE there is light at the end of a long, dark tunnel for Mercedes after Lewis Hamilton’s epic drive in the US GP.
The 38-year-old produced a stunning drive to press winner Max Verstappen to the wire as he proved he still has what it takes to be the king of F1.
Hamilton, cheered on by Prince Harry, who sat in his Mercedes’ garage, is desperate to end Verstappen’s reign at the top.
However, his bid for a record eighth world crown has been denied by a series of duds off the Silver Arrows production line.
But this though, a whole load of new upgraded car parts in preparation for next year’s season, will give him a huge boost in confidence as Verstappen no longer was able to run away with it.
Hamilton was second to Verstappen, but the gap had been slashed to under two seconds on the final lap in what proved to be a great race for the US fans.
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Lando Norris made a sensational start from second place on the grid to leapfrog Charles Leclerc, who started on pole.
The Brit held his nerve while the rest of the field squabbled for track position behind him with Hamilton battling with Carlos Sainz for third place.
It made for a nervy position for Verstappen, who tiptoed through the melee of cars in front of him after he qualified in sixth place.
By lap four, Hamilton had moved into the podium places with a neat overtake on Sainz while Verstappen had climbed up to fourth on lap five.
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Hamilton was still making progress and he passed Leclerc to run in second place behind Norris, who was looking in control out in front.
However, it was not going so well for his McLaren teammate, Oscar Piastri, who was told to retire his car after 11 laps to join Esteban Ocon in the pitlane after he retired his Alpine.
Verstappen set about eating into Leclerc’s advantage before making his move past the Ferrari man at turn one.
The world champion was given a helping hand as Hamilton’s Mercedes team made a slow pitstop on lap 21, which dropped him behind the Red Bull man when got back on track.
And so the relentless Red Bull racer started to pile the pressure on Norris, who had the Dutchman growing ever-larger in his mirrors.
Norris made a slight mistake at turn 11 on lap 25 which allowed Verstappen to move even closer in what had become an inevitable outcome.
Like watching a lion stalk its prey, Verstappen slowed edged closer to the rear of Norris’s McLaren.
And he pounded on lap 28 at turn 12, powering past with Norris barely putting up any resistance.
Over the radio, he half-heartedly questioned whether the new race leader had gone off track in making his overtake. Verstappen hadn’t; the move stood.
The race had not even reached the halfway point and it was looking like another dead rubber – however, it sparked into life.
Unusually, Verstappen did not power away from the rest of the field and into the distance – possibly hamstrung by a brake problem.
This time, both Norris and Hamilton stayed within four seconds of the Red Bull man.
After the second flurry of pitstops, Hamilton was third and Norris was second as the two Brits hoped to take advantage of any mistake from the leader.
The usually untroubled star may have been running at the front but he could sense this was no cake walk like some of his other 15 wins this season.
He snapped at his race engineer, Gianpiero Lambiase, who passed on some information over the radio: “Please, no talking in the braking zones!”
The intensity was rising – and it cranked up another notch when Hamilton passed Norris for second place.
The two played out a thrilling fight for position at top speed, dancing through the corners just millimetres apart.
The battle started on lap 48 and lasted nearly two laps before Hamilton was the victor.
Verstappen snapped again as Lambiase told him that Hamilton was closing, rifling back with another sweary message.
He held on to take his 50th win in F1, but Mercedes’ dramatic improvement will be a concern.
Norris was third – his fourth podium in a row – and Sainz fourth. Red Bull’s Sergio Perez was a disappointing fifth and Russell was seventh.
Hamilton said over the team’s radio: “Fantastic weekend, guys. Really well done. We’ve got lots of work to do in different areas but let’s keep pushing.
“Thank you to everyone back at the factory for the upgrade. Let’s keep pushing, we are getting closer. Next time. I really appreciate you not giving up on us.”
Hamilton added: “First of all, we have to congratulate these guys (Red Bull). The team has done an incredible job all year long, just dominated and Max has been flawless.
“We were catching towards the end and I was hopeful we needed some more laps.
“The team did an amazing job this weekend, so much work to bring this upgrade here.
“Honestly it was really difficult after the last race, firstly with everything that is going on in the world and the big mistake I made. I really felt like I let the team down so much.
“I had to go through a real deep process of getting back here. It’s one of those experiences of not how you fall but how you get up.”
Verstappen said: “The whole race, I was struggling a lot with the brakes. Around here there are quite a few braking points.
“I couldn’t really have the same feeling as yesterday so that definitely made my race a bit tougher out here today.
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“It was very close at the end and also with the backmarkers, the tyres are already going so it makes it more difficult.
“It’s incredible to win my 50th Grand Prix here. Very proud of course and we will keep on trying to push for more.”
Source: Motorsport - thesun.co.uk
