Formula 1 United States GP

Hamilton offers to sacrifice upgrades to help Russell in US GP

George Russell’s Q3 crash in Austin means his latest new parts are binned

2024 United States Grand Prix - Saturday

2024 United States Grand Prix - Saturday

2024 United States Grand Prix - Saturday

2024 United States Grand Prix - Saturday

2024 United States Grand Prix - Saturday

2024 United States Grand Prix - Saturday

Tiffany Cromwell and Valtteri Bottas, Stake F1 Team KICK Sauber

2024 United States Grand Prix - Saturday

Andrea Stella, Team Principal, McLaren F1 Team

2024 United States Grand Prix - Saturday

2024 United States Grand Prix - Saturday

2024 United States Grand Prix - Saturday

2024 United States Grand Prix - Saturday

Kevin Magnussen, Haas F1 Team Sergio Perez, Red Bull Racing

2024 United States Grand Prix - Saturday

Jock Clear, Senior Performance Engineer, Scuderia Ferrari with Mattia Binotto, CEO and CTO, Stake F1 Team KICK Sauber

2024 United States Grand Prix - Saturday

Toto Wolff, Team Principal and CEO, Mercedes-AMG F1 Team

2024 United States Grand Prix - Saturday

2024 United States Grand Prix - Saturday

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing Nico Hulkenberg, Haas F1 Team Kevin Magnussen, Haas F1 Team

2024 United States Grand Prix - Saturday

Valtteri Bottas, Stake F1 Team KICK Sauber

2024 United States Grand Prix - Saturday

Andy Cowell, Group CEO, Aston Martin F1 Team, on the grid

2024 United States Grand Prix - Saturday

2024 United States Grand Prix - Saturday

2024 United States Grand Prix - Saturday

Red Bull Racing RB20 steering wheel of Sergio Perez

2024 United States Grand Prix - Saturday

2024 United States Grand Prix - Saturday

2024 United States Grand Prix - Saturday

2024 United States Grand Prix - Saturday

2024 United States Grand Prix - Saturday

2024 United States Grand Prix - Saturday

2024 United States Grand Prix - Saturday

The grid with a view of Turn 1 ahead of the Sprint

2024 United States Grand Prix - Saturday

Nico Hulkenberg, Haas F1 Team, gets out of the car on the grid

2024 United States Grand Prix - Saturday

Valtteri Bottas, Stake F1 Team KICK Sauber, removes his helmet on the grid

2024 United States Grand Prix - Saturday

Lance Stroll, Aston Martin F1 Team, on the grid

2024 United States Grand Prix - Saturday

2024 United States Grand Prix - Saturday

Valtteri Bottas, Stake F1 Team KICK Sauber, on the grid

2024 United States Grand Prix - Saturday

Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes-AMG F1 Team, on the grid

2024 United States Grand Prix - Saturday

Shaboozey and Gordon Ramsey pose in front of the car of Lando Norris, McLaren MCL38, on the grid

2024 United States Grand Prix - Saturday

Zhou Guanyu, Stake F1 Team KICK Sauber, removes his helmet on the grid

2024 United States Grand Prix - Saturday

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB20, George Russell, Mercedes F1 W15, Lando Norris, McLaren MCL38, Charles Leclerc, Ferrari SF-24, Carlos Sainz, Ferrari SF-24, the rest of the field at the start of the Sprint

2024 United States Grand Prix - Saturday

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB20, George Russell, Mercedes F1 W15, Charles Leclerc, Ferrari SF-24, Lando Norris, McLaren MCL38, Carlos Sainz, Ferrari SF-24, the rest of the field at the start of the Sprint race

2024 United States Grand Prix - Saturday

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB20, Lando Norris, McLaren MCL38, George Russell, Mercedes F1 W15, the rest of the field away

2024 United States Grand Prix - Saturday

Race start, as drivers race into the first corner

2024 United States Grand Prix - Saturday

Lando Norris, McLaren MCL38, George Russell, Mercedes F1 W15, Charles Leclerc, Ferrari SF-24, Carlos Sainz, Ferrari SF-24, the remainder of the field at the start of the Sprint

2024 United States Grand Prix - Saturday

Lando Norris, McLaren MCL38, George Russell, Mercedes F1 W15, Charles Leclerc, Ferrari SF-24, Carlos Sainz, Ferrari SF-24, the rest of the field at the start of the Sprint race

2024 United States Grand Prix - Saturday

Lando Norris, McLaren MCL38, George Russell, Mercedes F1 W15

2024 United States Grand Prix - Saturday

2024 United States Grand Prix - Saturday

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB20, Lando Norris, McLaren MCL38

2024 United States Grand Prix - Saturday

Lando Norris, McLaren MCL38, Carlos Sainz, Ferrari SF-24, Charles Leclerc, Ferrari SF-24

2024 United States Grand Prix - Saturday

Valtteri Bottas, Stake F1 Team KICK Sauber C44 battles with Zhou Guanyu, Stake F1 Team KICK Sauber C44

2024 United States Grand Prix - Saturday

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB20, Lando Norris, McLaren MCL38, George Russell, Mercedes F1 W15

2024 United States Grand Prix - Saturday

2024 United States Grand Prix - Saturday

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB20, 1st position, in Parc Ferme

2024 United States Grand Prix - Saturday

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing, 1st position, Carlos Sainz, Scuderia Ferrari, 2nd position, congratulate each other in Parc Ferme

2024 United States Grand Prix - Saturday

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing, 1st position, Carlos Sainz, Scuderia Ferrari, 2nd position, chat in Parc Ferme

2024 United States Grand Prix - Saturday

2024 United States Grand Prix - Saturday

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing, 1st position, Lando Norris, McLaren F1 Team, 3rd position, chat in Parc Ferme

2024 United States Grand Prix - Saturday

Carlos Sainz, Scuderia Ferrari, 2nd position, celebrates in Parc Ferme

2024 United States Grand Prix - Saturday

Sting with the Sprint top 3: Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing, 1st position, Carlos Sainz, Scuderia Ferrari, 2nd position, Lando Norris, McLaren F1 Team, 3rd position

2024 United States Grand Prix - Saturday

Marshals clear away the car of Valtteri Bottas, Stake F1 Team KICK Sauber C44

2024 United States Grand Prix - Saturday

The car of Valtteri Bottas, Stake F1 Team KICK Sauber C44, is moved away on a flatbed truck

2024 United States Grand Prix - Saturday

2024 United States Grand Prix - Saturday

2024 United States Grand Prix - Saturday

2024 United States Grand Prix - Saturday

Stake F1 Team KICK Sauber C44 wooden plank detail

2024 United States Grand Prix - Saturday

2024 United States Grand Prix - Saturday

2024 United States Grand Prix - Saturday

Zak Brown, CEO, McLaren Racing, Mohammed Ben Sulayem, President, FIA

2024 United States Grand Prix - Saturday

2024 United States Grand Prix - Saturday

Mattia Binotto, CEO and CTO, Stake F1 Team KICK Sauber, watches down the pit lane

2024 United States Grand Prix - Saturday

2024 United States Grand Prix - Saturday

2024 United States Grand Prix - Saturday

Mondo Duplantis and his fiancée Desiré Inglander

2024 United States Grand Prix - Saturday

Pato O'Ward, Reserve Driver, McLaren F1 Team

2024 United States Grand Prix - Saturday

2024 United States Grand Prix - Saturday

Valtteri Bottas, Stake F1 Team KICK Sauber C44

2024 United States Grand Prix - Saturday

2024 United States Grand Prix - Saturday

2024 United States Grand Prix - Saturday

2024 United States Grand Prix - Saturday

Pole man Lando Norris, McLaren MCL38, parks his car in Parc Ferme

2024 United States Grand Prix - Saturday

2024 United States Grand Prix - Saturday

Pole man Lando Norris, McLaren F1 Team, celebrates in Parc Ferme

2024 United States Grand Prix - Saturday

Liam Lawson, Visa Cash App RB F1 Team, and Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin F1 Team

2024 United States Grand Prix - Saturday

Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes-AMG F1 Team for Sky Sports F1

2024 United States Grand Prix - Saturday

Oscar Piastri, McLaren F1 Team, chats with Pole man Lando Norris, McLaren F1 Team, in Parc Ferme

2024 United States Grand Prix - Saturday

Lando Norris, McLaren F1 Team, receives his Pirelli Pole Position Award from Pole Vaulter Armand Duplantis

2024 United States Grand Prix - Saturday

Top three qualifiers Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing, pole man Lando Norris, McLaren F1 Team, Carlos Sainz, Scuderia Ferrari

2024 United States Grand Prix - Saturday

Lewis Hamilton has offered to sacrifice his Formula 1 car upgrades to help Mercedes team-mate George Russell have the best chance for the United States Grand Prix.

Russell suffered a high-speed crash at Austin’s Turn 19 in the closing stages of Q3. He ended up skipping across the gravel and into the barriers – bringing out the yellow flags.

The impact damaged his car, which was fitted with the latest upgrades that his team has brought to this weekend’s event in Austin.

With the team only having two sets of the upgrades, one for each driver, there are no spares – so the damage Russell sustained potentially means the Briton having to roll back to the previous development version.

Such a change of specification under parc ferme normally means that a driver will have to start from the pitlane, but as it is a sprint race weekend the rules are different and such changes are allowed without a penalty.

Article 40.4 of F1’s sporting regulations states that this can happen as long as: “The competitor can demonstrate there is a shortage of parts, and provided that the replacement part is of a specification that has been previously used in a qualifying session or a race.”

However, a downgrade of parts will have performance implications and limit Russell’s chances of moving forward from his sixth spot on the grid.

Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes F1 W15

Photo by: Simon Galloway / Motorsport Images

Speaking after the session, Russell revealed that team-mate Hamilton, who was knocked out of Q1, had offered to give up his own parts to help him – but said such a move was unlikely.

“Right now, the concern is about the bits,” said Russell. “We will have to revert on the upgrades.

“Lewis has kindly offered his ones, but we're not going to swap. So I don't know what's going to be happening now, but that's the biggest concern.”

Mercedes will evaluate this evening what the best plan for the race is, but it is thought unlikely that it will accept Hamilton’s offer – as that would require major work to be done across two cars.

Mystery drop in pace

Russell said his crash was the result of him simply pushing too hard to try to make up for a pace deficit.

“All season, when the car is in the sweet spot, we are fighting for poles and wins,” he said. “Yesterday, we were both fighting for pole and today we were both almost out in Q1.

George Russell, Mercedes F1 W15, kicks up sparks

Photo by: Glenn Dunbar / Motorsport Images

“I really pushed it on that last lap, and ultimately, trying to find performance that wasn't there and paid the price. And I'm really just disappointed with myself, because everyone's worked so hard to bring the upgrades. Now that is in the bin.”

Russell said that, with the team not having made any dramatic set-up changes since the sprint, it was baffling as to why things were so difficult from Friday’s qualifying session.

“We don't have the answers because we keep finding ourselves in this position,” he said.

“It is how the car is interacting with the tyres. The temperature, small changes; the wind, small changes. But it has been the story of the season, old upgrades, new upgrades. Either we're there or we're half a second, six tenths off.”