'Devastated' Hamilton can't believe it: 'I've never spun in F1 before!'

Hamilton had a disastrous qualifying session, finishing 19th fastest. He moved up two places due to pitlane starts for Liam Lawson and his teammate George Russell and immediately put himself in the picture for points with a "great start."

"I was feeling good. I got up to 12th. Best start and turn one that I’ve had in a long time. I wasn’t even pushing at that point. I was just starting to get going and bring the tyres up to temperature.  The car just started bouncing, the left front started bouncing, and the rear end just came around. Same as George yesterday," Hamilton said in the paddock.

What went wrong for Hamilton in the United States Grand Prix?

Mercedes was optimistic about their upgrades, with Russell even warning them they were taking 'two steps'. However, several problems on Friday suggested they weren't as positive as they were forecasting. In FP1, Hamilton spun at high speed. Things got worse for the 39-year-old Mercedes driver from then onwards. On lap three of Sunday's race, Hamilton lost control of his car and beached his Mercedes in the gravel. He expressed the issue was similar to Friday.

"FP1, I had the same thing. I had the spin in turn three. It was so rare, I've never spun in turn three in all the years that I've been here, and I've never spun there before either. George obviously had the same problem yesterday, and he's gone back to the old spec car, and he's looking good out there. So maybe there's something with our new upgrade," Hamilton suggested before confirming the team will investigate it before the Mexican Grand Prix on Sunday.

Hamilton has 'only' retired from 32 Grands Prix in 351 starts, which is exactly the same number as Max Verstappen. Despite it being rare to see Hamilton alone in the gravel trap, the Brit said it was only a matter of time in Austin.

"If I didn't have this bouncing stuff. If it didn't happen that lap, it would have happened another lap coming up. Because something wasn't quite right there with the car. It's been the same most of the weekend with this new package we have. It's obviously devastating, but it is what it is. I'm glad we'll be driving in four days time. I've never spun in a race. It wasn’t that I wasn't focused or anything. It’s just, I’ve never had this problem with a car before," Hamilton concluded.

Though Hamilton will leave Austin with one positive outcome. His future team, Ferrari, achieved their second one-two of the season and their first on USA soil in nearly two decades. Hamilton, who turns 40 during the winter break, will race for the Italian team in 2025 and 2026 at least.