Was the F1 US GP crash Lewis Hamilton's fault? Mercedes boss Toto Wolff gives his verdict

Lewis Hamilton had a weekend to forget at the 2024 United States Grand Prix where he had an underwhelming qualifying performance and a disastrous main race. After qualifying in P19 on Saturday, the Mercedes driver's race came to a premature end after he beached the car. However, was Hamilton solely responsible for the crash that jeopardized his and Mercedes' COTA outing? Toto Wolff doesn't think so.

Hamilton started his race from P17, but within three laps his race was over as he lost control of his W-15, went out of the track, and beached his car. Reports said that the seven-time world champion struggled with the set-up of his car, which resulted in him spinning out and ending his race.

Hamilton, one of the most successful drivers around the Circuit of The Americas track, went home with just two points from the Sprint in the entire weekend. His unfortunate outing not only left the fans disheartened but also cost the Silver Arrows numerous points. However, Wolff was not ready to put all the blame on Hamilton.

"100 percent car," Wolff told Sky Sports F1 when asked if Hamilton was entirely responsible. "He was not even pushing at that stage. We saw it with George on Saturday, perhaps that was maybe over-pushing it, but still abrupt losing it and putting it in the wall."

"Today, there was wind and a bit of dirty air from the car in front. We definitely have an issue. I don't know if yesterday was the same. Lewis Hamilton doesn't lose the car on lap [two] like this," the Mercedes boss added.

While the 39-year-old had an underwhelming outing, his teammate George Russell saved the day for the Brackley-based team. The Brit started his race from the pit lane, but finished it in P6, ahead of Red Bull's Sergio Perez.

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Lewis Hamilton explained the US GP ordeal

Lewis Hamilton of Great Britain and Mercedes looks on after crashing during the F1 Grand Prix of United States at Circuit of The Americas. Source: Getty Images

Following the conclusion of the United States Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton opened up about his crash, stating that he experienced such a mishap for the first time in his long F1 career.

"I mean that's never happened before. A first for everything, I guess," Hamilton told Sky Sports F1 in the post-race interview. "

"I wasn't even really pushing at that point. The car just started bouncing and Bono [race engineer Peter Bonnington] said I just got a 40kph tailwind but the left wheel was bouncing up in the air and then I lost the back end."

Lewis Hamilton currently stands in P6 of the Drivers' championship with 177 points, 10 points ahead of his Mercedes teammate George Russell. The Silver Arrows occupy P4 with 344 points after 19 races and four Sprints.