Lewis Hamilton praises ‘phenomenal’ team result in Las Vegas as he recovers from P10 to P2

“It felt a lot like my old days (kart) at Rye House, where I started at the back and came through – so that was great.

“(It was a) really good balance in the car today, felt a lot better than yesterday – especially Q3 – but it’s just phenomenal for the team.

“It’s a bit bittersweet, as if we had qualified where we should have yesterday, I think I could have won. Nevertheless, I didn’t think I would have been able to finish P2 today before the race, so I’m very happy.”

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Mercedes has had a topsy-turvy campaign with four wins but also events where it has fallen away towards the lower ranks of the points-paying positions.

On whether its performance levels in Las Vegas can be maintained through the remaining two Grands Prix, Hamilton replied: “I have no idea! I don’t think there’s anyone in the team who knows why we’re as fast as we are this weekend, we’re happy about it, but I often think in the warmer conditions we struggle more.

“Maybe Qatar will be cooler and it’s smooth, on the track we were okay last year, Abu Dhabi maybe less so, but we’ll see.”