F1 News: Former Driver Blasts Lewis Hamilton For Lack Of "Bravery" Costing Him Las Vegas GP Performance

Was Lewis Hamilton holding himself back from pushing 100% in Las Vegas?

Formula 1 pundit Peter Windsor claims that a lack of bravery cost Lewis Hamilton the Las Vegas Grand Prix. He fears that the seven-time world champion is not pushing his W14 to its maximum potential like teammate George Russell, who was "absolutely on the edge."

However, the inaugural race weekend brought along several challenges that Mercedes had to endure in qualifying and the Grand Prix since Hamilton got out in Q2, whereas Russell qualified third on the grid. 

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The seven-time champion then suffered a puncture during the race after making contact with Oscar Piastri, which caused him to finish in seventh- one position ahead of his teammate who made contact with Max Verstappen. 

1992 title-winning team manager Windsor hinted via his YouTube channel the difference in qualifying between both Mercedes drivers, which clearly indicated that Russell was willing to take a higher risk on a high-speed tight street circuit than Hamilton. He said:

“If you wanted to watch any driver in Vegas who would give you sweaty palms, it would be George Russell: absolutely on top of that Mercedes in a way, sadly, I don’t think Lewis Hamilton could ever do now.

“He was full of enthusiasm for this circuit and he actually used the phrase: ‘It’s going to be really good for racing and DRS.’

“I’m wondering if he’s regretting saying that now because this circuit is just about straights, DRS and, if you like from Lewis’s perspective, it’s about bravery.

“Concrete walls everywhere, high-speed braking – Lewis just couldn’t get the best from the tyres on his warm-up laps and his push laps – and it was sad to see because obviously it’s a pretty good car around here.

“I’m not saying it’s as good as a Red Bull [but] that was a very good lap from George Russell, absolutely on the edge and Lewis – quite rightly, I think, for a seven-time World Champion – [was] not prepared to do that.

“Because unlike other circuits this year where there have been tyre-temperature issues – Monaco and Barcelona spring to mind – there aren’t any corners in Vegas where a driver like Lewis can actually start playing around with what he does with the car.

“Maybe slightly longer corners, maybe brake a little bit later, get a bit more energy in the car when you load it up – there isn’t anywhere you can do that in Vegas and that’s where he was struggling because it’s all about braking from high speed and making sure you get the car into the chicane and get a decent exit.”

Russell is the most recent driver from the Mercedes team to secure a victory, achieving the team's last win in Brazil during the second-to-last round of the 2022 season. In contrast, Hamilton has not secured a single win since the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix in December 2021.