Lewis Hamilton states he was petrified during the United States Grand Prix that a dependability issue would cost him another win.
Hamilton has suffered a string of engine issues that have affected his title hopes this season and seen Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg develop a significant lead.
Hamilton stated: “I was just petrified the vehicle wasn’t going to make it.”
“That’s probably the very first time in my entire profession I have had that weighing heavily on my heart throughout the entire thing.”
Hamilton stated that when he finally crossed the line to take his first win after the German Grand Prix at the end of July it was “a release”.
“It was the longest afternoon I had most likely in my entire profession, just hoping the car makes it to the end. Every single lap I was believing something might take place.”
Hamilton told he was “haunted” by exactly what had taken place to him at the Malaysian Grand Prix two races back, where he dominated just for an engine issue to take away a victory that would have provided him the championship lead.
Instead, he came away from that race with a 23-point deficit to Rosberg, which encompassed 33 when Rosberg won the following weekend in Japan while Hamilton ended up third.
The gap is now 26 points since Rosberg finished second to Hamilton in Austin.
