Motorsport

FORMULA ONE icon Damon Hill has spoke of his surprise at Lewis Hamilton ‘giving the game away’ on the team radio during the United States Grand Prix.The Mercedes driver voiced concerns over his pace during Sunday’s race as he finished second behind Max Verstappen at the Circuit of the Americas.
Lewis Hamilton finished as runner-up to Max Verstappen in Sunday’s United States Grand PrixCredit: AFP
Former world champion Damon Hill has discussed Hamilton’s comments over the team radioCredit: AFP
Hamilton, 36, was leading the GP until lap 37 when Mercedes decided to pit him, resulting in Verstappen retaking first place.
And after being heard questioning whether he could maintain his speed, 1996 world champion Hill wonders if there are games being played on the radio between his British compatriot and Verstappen.
Speaking on the F1 Nation podcast, he said: “It was a terrific race, because it was so finely-balanced all the way through.
“And there’s a little bit of gamesmanship [with] some of those radio calls.
“I was surprised that Lewis was on the radio saying, ‘I can’t keep up the pace’, as he does sometimes.
“You think, ‘Why are you giving the game away?’ Then Max was saying, ‘I can see him sliding around’, and then pitted and completely outfoxed Mercedes.

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“[Verstappen] got track position back from his pole position that he lost in effect, and then controlled a very, very tight race. It was thrilling from beginning to end.”
He added: “The first lap of that [race] was right up there with all the top first laps we’ve ever seen.
“But the nail-biter was whether or not Lewis would get within the one second and get his DRS open. He seemed to get close enough, and then he couldn’t.
“He obviously couldn’t get close enough because he didn’t open his DRS. So he never got a shot at that passing move, and ran out of laps before we ran out of tyres.
“But the tension I think was great, all the way through. The other thing was the fans in the crowd seemed to be relating to it and getting in.

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“Everyone seemed to be clued in as to the importance of the strategy and what the guys were really doing in the cars.”
Hamilton now trails Verstappen by 12 points with just five races to go, and the seven-time champ believes his rival has the edge in the upcoming Mexican and Brazilian Grand Prix’s.
His claim has been rubbished by Red Bull boss Christian Horner, who has declared that it would be difficult for his team to come out on top.
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RED BULL boss Christian Horner has rubbished Lewis Hamilton’s suggestion his team are assured of victory in the next two F1 races.Max Verstappen’s win in the US GP – traditionally a Mercedes stronghold – saw the Dutchman open up a 12 point lead in the championship.
Horner does not believe Red Bull have an advantage in Mexico and BrazilCredit: EPA
Afterwards, Hamilton admitted the races in Mexico and Brazil would be very difficult for his team to win based on Red Bull’s previous results there.
However, Horner says those results count for nothing as this season’s title fight is too close to call.
He said: “You’ve got to chuck the form book away. It’s very tight between the two teams.
“Mexico has been a good track for us, but it’s been a good track for them as well, on occasion. So we don’t underestimate them.
“You’ve got to attack. So 12 points is nothing, it can disappear very, very quickly, as we’ve seen previously.
“So we’ve got to keep attacking race weekends and get the most out of them that we possibly can. And five to go, the pressure only gets bigger.”

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Meanwhile, Horner says his team would not be seeking clarification from the FIA over Mercedes’s rear suspension.
Sky pundits were excited to show pictures of the rear of Hamilton’s car seemingly moving up and down of his own accord in Texas.
However, Merc and Red Bull both see no issue with its legality, with Horner saying his team would not be lodging a protest.
He added: “We’ve never said we don’t think it’s legal, so therefore there’d be absolutely no reason to protest.
“It’s something that has been used historically. We’ve seen it with them in the past.”
Verstappen has edged ahead in the championship race with three consecutive podium finishes, but a strong finish from Hamilton could take it right to the wire.
The season is set for a thrilling conclusion in Abu Dhabi on 12 December in what could be a championship deciding race, which Hamilton has already won a record five times.
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LEWIS Hamilton threw a lavish party for his “best friend” – his British bulldog, Roscoe.The racing champ rushed back to his dog after finishing in second place in the US Grand Prix in Texas on Sunday, to celebrate the hound’s ninth birthday.
Roscoe celebrated his ninth birthday after Lewis Hamilton got back from the US Grand Prix
Roscoe tucks into his birthday cakeCredit: INSTAGRAM/ADVENTURESINDOGTRAINING
Roscoe appeared to fully enjoy his birthday celebrationsCredit: INSTAGRAM/ADVENTURESINDOGTRAINING
Roscoe was pictured devouring a pricey, vegan, bone-shaped birthday cake covered with his name written on it in blue icing.
Hamilton, 36, also shared videos online of his pooch surrounded by doggy pals who were dressed up wearing brightly coloured outfits and party hats for the occasion.
The posts were made through his dog’s Instagram account, which boasts 414,000 followers.
Alongside one video, Lewis pretended to be the dog and wrote: “It’s my’s birthdays today’s.
“Hads the best times excepts whens my friends starteds to eats my cakes.”
Responding to footage of the party on Twitter, one fan @carolthethird wrote: “Man got a better birthday than me this year.”

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Last month, Lewis revealed Roscoe was his closest confidant.
He said: “He’s my best friend. I can confide in him, and he brings me happiness every day.“
“When I go training, he’s sad when I leave. And when I get back, he’s super happy.”
He was criticised last year after revealing Roscoe was now a vegan, claiming that a plant-based diet had the dog acting “like a puppy again.”
Lewis switched his dog’s diet after his other bulldog Coco died aged six following a heart attack last year.
Roscoe was surrounded by pals for the event
Hamilton with best pal Roscoe More

LEWIS HAMILTON has admitted that it will be ‘tough’ to beat Red Bull at either of the next two grands prix.The Brit was edged out by rival Max Verstappen during a thrilling climax to the US Grand Prix yesterday.
Lewis Hamilton has admitted that the next few weeks will be ‘tough’Credit: Reuters
The Brit poses on the podium with his Red Bulls rivalsCredit: Alamy
Verstappen’s win took him 12 points clear of Hamilton – the largest lead either rival has had in the Driver’s Standings since Silverstone in July.
The seven-time world champion is still in the mix with five races remaining – but has admitted that the Red Bulls have the advantage in the next two GPs at altitude.
Their battle recommences on November 7 in Mexico, before going to Brazil a week later.
On the next two races, Hamilton, 36, said: “At least the next two tracks for sure, very strong circuits for Red Bull so it’s going to be tough, for sure.”
The Mercedes star has split the last four Mexican Grands Prix with Verstappen.
It’s believed that the higher altitude and thin air puts extra strain on engines, which could favour the Red Bull.

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Hamilton did actually win the most recent edition of the Mexican GP in 2019.
Verstappen triumphed in the two prior years, with Hamilton grabbing victory in 2016.
It’s been a similar story in Brazil – with the more experienced star winning in 2016 and 2018 – before Verstappen’s victory in 2019.
Expanding on his narrow defeat on Sunday, Hamilton added: “Unfortunately we weren’t quick enough to win the race today but yeah, we just look forward and take it one race at a time.
“We have no idea… they are two circuits that are strong for Red Bull so we just try to minimise how strong they can be compared to us and see if we can do a better job.”
Verstappen claimed that the pulsating last few laps in Texas were ‘fun’.
Although Red Bull boss Christian Horner may disagree, after admitting that it felt like he ‘aged 25 years’.
Hamilton triumphed last time out in MexicoCredit: Getty Images – Getty
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MAX VERSTAPPEN won the US GP as this Texas shootout turned into a bigger nail-biter than Paul Scholes.They flocked to Austin in their thousands to see this race, as for the first time in its 70 year history, F1 finally looks to have cracked the American market.
Nax Verstappen extended his overall lead to 12 pointsCredit: Getty
Hamilton narrowly lost out to VerstappenCredit: Reuters
Shaquille O’Neal hands Verstappen his winner’s trophyCredit: Getty
Sure, the popularity of the Netflix series, Drive to Survive, has helped but so too has this epic fight between Lewis Hamilton and Verstappen for the title.
And those fans were treated to a pulsating duel in the desert as Hamilton reeled in Verstappen’s advantage, creating a thrilling climax.
Hamilton made a fantastic start from second on the grid and in his attempt to block the Mercedes man, Verstappen tried to cut him off going into Turn One.
The two avoided contact as this time, unlike when they collided at Silverstone, Verstappen bailed out and was forced to go wide.
That saw Hamilton shoot into the lead as Verstappen quickly regained his composure to settle down in second.
However, with the bit firmly between his teeth, he would not let the rear of the Mercedes out of his sight and hung on the back of Hamilton’s gearbox.

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In doing so, it damaged his tyres and Verstappen stopped for fresh tyres at the end of lap 11 of this 56 lap race and when he returned to the track he was in fourth place.
Hamilton did stop three laps later but Red Bull’s decision to pull the trigger first saw Verstappen pull off the undercut and propelled him to first place, as Sergio Perez and Charles Leclerc also stopped for tyres.
But if there is anything we have learned from Hamilton over the course of his battle with Verstappen, he is determined to take the fight to the Dutchman.
The fightback started around lap 27, as the Brit started to eat into Verstappen’s lead.
Red Bull watched anxiously as Vertstappen’s lap times tumbled and decided to stop him again on lap 29 for a final stop.
Red Bull had played their hand and the Mercedes staticians at their Race Support Room in their Brackley HQ calculated the numbers.
It left Verstappen needing to nurse his tyres to the finishing line as his race was heavily compromised.
Sensing a win was on the cards, Hamilton received a radio message from boss Toto Wolff, who told his driver he was racing for the victory.
No further incentive needed, Mercedes left Hamilton out for as long as possible before pitting him from the lead on lap 37, giving him a fresh set of hard tyres to hunt down Verstappen, who was back in front as a result of the pitstop.
It was a star-studded event with Logan Paul (right) in attendanceCredit: Getty
Serena Williams was also in attendanceCredit: Getty
O’Neal next to the car of Max Verstappen, who he later handed the winner’s trophy toCredit: Getty
The thrilling climax began with the gap between the two at 8.8 seconds as Hamilton emerged from the pitlane.
With 15 laps to go, that lead was sliced to 6.5 seconds. He then hit traffic as he struggled to pass the back markers.
By lap 45, the gap was even further reduced to 3.7 seconds. With 10 laps to go, it was under three seconds.
With five to go, it was down to two. It was nail-biting stuff as Hamilton closed in on his opponent.
Two laps to go and the gap was under a second but Verstappen held his nerve and held off the threat of Hamilton.
Another lap and the world champion would have caught him.
But the Brit was magnanimous in defeat, saying after the race: “Firstly congratulations to Max he did a great job today.
“It was such a tough race. I got a good start, gave it absolutely everything but at the end of the day, they just had the upper hand this weekend and we couldn’t really have asked for more.
“A big thank you to my team, great work through the weekend.”
Verstappen said: “Of course we lost out in the start and had to do something else and we went aggressive.
“I was not too sure it was going to work and the last few laps were fun and I was super happy to hang on.”
Megan Thee Stallion on grid in Austin, TexasCredit: Getty More