Downbeat Hamilton says Austin Sprint doesn’t give Mercedes ‘any hope’ for rest of weekend

The Mercedes drivers were left downbeat after the Sprint at the United States Grand Prix, with Lewis Hamilton claiming that the event had not given the team “any hope” that things might improve in qualifying and the race after both cars faced struggles.

Despite crossing the line in sixth to make up one position from his original starting place, Hamilton was seemingly disappointed by how the W15 felt during the 100km dash compared to its performance on Friday.

READ MORE: Verstappen seals assured Sprint victory in Austin thriller ahead of Sainz and Norris

Asked if the lessons learned in the Sprint offered some hope that qualifying later in the day and Sunday’s Grand Prix might be better, Hamilton responded: “From the Sprint race, it doesn’t give us any hope for sure! But yesterday it felt pretty decent.”

And when pushed on whether the team will have to make a lot of changes prior to qualifying, the seven-time world champion added: “I really don’t know, the car was just massively oversteery in that session, which was very odd.”

George Russell, meanwhile, had lined up in second place for the Sprint but lost out to Lando Norris at the start. As the 19-lap encounter progressed he was also overtaken by the Ferrari duo of Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc, leaving him down in P5.

HIGHLIGHTS: Watch the action from a Sprint overtaking extravaganza as Verstappen returns to winning ways in Austin

In terms of whether he was surprised by how his pace dropped off during the event, the Briton conceded: “Yeah, I was really surprised, to be honest.

“I felt really strong Laps 2-6 and I was fighting with Lando – probably should have passed him when I had the opportunity, [so I] didn’t do the best job then.

“Suddenly the next lap my tyres were totally gone, the Ferraris passed me like I was stood still. I thought I got the set-up wrong, but I spoke with Lewis and he had the total opposite problem, his rears were gone, so clearly we need to understand something.”

READ MORE: Norris taking positives from Austin Sprint despite ‘disappointing end’ as he suggests McLaren don’t have pace of rivals

The drivers will not have long to wait for an opportunity to bounce back, with qualifying set to take place at 1700 local time.