Lewis Hamilton set for unwanted career first after US Grand Prix | F1 | Sport

Lewis Hamilton equalled his best result of the Formula 1 season in Sunday’s US Grand Prix in Austin as he finished fourth at the Circuit of the Americas. The seven-time world champion started fifth on the grid, but overtook former Mercedes team-mate George Russell to claim 12 points.

The result marks the fourth time that the 40-year-old has finished in the top four since joining Ferrari back in January. Yet his wait for a first podium finish with the iconic Italian constructor goes on, with a win in the sprint race at the Chinese Grand Prix back in March the only time he has broken into the top three.

While Hamilton missed out on a podium in Austin, team-mate Charles Leclerc finished third and had been racing in second before being overtaken late on by the Mclaren of Lando Norris. Leclerc has now finished on the podium six times this season, with a second-place finish in his home race of Monaco complementing five third-place finishes.

Ferrari did recover well at the US Grand Prix after Hamilton and Leclerc had struggled in sprint qualifying, finishing eighth and tenth respectively. But after both Mclarens had to retire after a crash on the first lap, they finished in fourth and fifth. Leclerc then qualified in third for the actual Grand Prix, with Hamilton starting in fifth before claiming his fourth-place finish.

But while the weekend certainly finished better than it started for both drivers, Hamilton is now staring down at the possibility of an unwanted career first. With five races of the season remaining, he risks the possibility of recording his least successful season in Formula 1.

The seven-time world champion has never recorded fewer than five podium finishes in a season, and can now only equal his career-worst return following the US Grand Prix. Hamilton boasts 105 wins and 202 podiums since his first season in F1 back in 2007, but has struggled to break into the top three in recent years.

Having won at least one race in each of his first 15 seasons in the sport, he went winless in both 2022 and 2023 before finishing first in last year’s British GP. He would also go on to win the Belgian GP after Russell was disqualified following the chequered flag in July 2024, but a second-place finish in Las Vegas last November remains his only podium finish since his most recent win.

Hamilton finished on the podium five times in 2024, following on from previous career-worst returns in both 2009 and 2013. In truth, the 40-year-old looks unlikely to equal that haul given Max Verstappen’s recent revival in the Red Bull since the summer break as he looks to chase down Norris and Oscar Piastri in the Mclarens as he goes in search of a fifth-successive drivers championship.

As a result, having already lost his impressive wins each season record in 2022, he is now at risk of finishing a season without even registering a podium finish for the first ever time in his career, or at least his lowest return of top three finishes.

The 2025 Formula 1 season continues next weekend in Mexico, before going to Brazil, Las Vega and Qatar in November and then concluding in Abu Dhabi on December 7.