“It was the fastest car” - Mercedes boss claims Lewis Hamilton had the fastest car in the 2023 F1 US GP

Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff has claimed that Lewis Hamilton had the 'fastest car' in the main race on Sunday at the COTA track.

The German team brought a new floor upgrade to the US Grand Prix last weekend which pushed the car, especially in the hands of Hamilton, to a genuine victory on Sunday.

The team, however, were not able to execute the best strategy for the Briton who finished two seconds behind the race winner and Red Bull driver Max Verstappen.

Speaking with Sky Sports Germany, Wolff mentioned that the team was able to compete with Red Bull on equal terms on merit. He said:

“It was the fastest car. It wasn’t enough for victory but it was enough for a duel on equal terms with Red Bull. You shouldn’t forget that they probably completed the development of the current car three months ago and are already looking ahead to next year."

"That’s right, however, we now have another one. We’ve brought a big upgrade. The development direction is right. We wanted to see whether the subfloor worked."

Lewis Hamilton reflects on the upgrade package after the US GP

The Brit stated that the new floor upgrade was definitely a step in performance in terms of downforce and overall balance. In his post-race press conference, Lewis Hamilton analyzed:

"Yeah, definitely I think the step that we were able to take this weekend has given me a little bit more confidence in the car, to throw it into the corners. So yeah, it was positive. I really enjoyed driving around this track. There are still some of the fundamental issues that we're having with the car, which won't change ‘till next year."

Hamilton continued:

"But it was really positive, as I said, to feel that the steps that we are taking… maybe it was only a 10th upgrade, for example, but there was at least a 10th of confidence, for example, that it gave me. So it's quite interesting what you see when you do have those, it's like a double knock-on effect.

Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes will hope that with new found improvements on the track and in the off-season will propel them back into championship contention against Verstappen and Red Bull.

It will be fascinating to see if the team will bring more upgrades in the remaining races as they are testing new parts on the car ahead of the 2024 season.