Hamilton United States GP podium 'fight' fuelled by Russell clash

Lewis Hamilton revealed his 'fight' at the United States Grand Prix was fuelled by the disappointment of his first corner crash with Mercedes teammate George Russell in Qatar.

The seven-time F1 World Champion finished second at the Circuit of the Americas following a race-long strategy battle with Max Verstappen and Lando Norris.

Hamilton closed in on Verstappen for the lead of the race late on as the Dutchman suffered from brake issues with the Briton running the Medium compound compared to Hards on the Red Bull.

The deficit narrowed rapidly in the final laps but Hamilton ran out of time to launch an attack for the race victory.

“We were catching him towards the end and I was hopeful but we needed some more laps," conceded Hamilton.

“The team did an amazing job this weekend, so much work to bring this upgrade here.”

Hamilton was pleased to receive to the podium after suffering an opening lap collision with team-mate George Russell in Qatar two weeks ago.

“It was really difficult after the last race. Firstly, with everything that's going on in the world and then obviously, the big mistake that I made.

“I really felt like I let the team down so much. I had to go through a really deep process of getting myself back here.

"It was just one of those experiences of you know it’s not how you fall it’s how you get back up. So I came in fighting, felt great, and I'm really happy with this result.”

Hamilton voices love for US

Hamilton who is a six-time winner of the US Grand Prix, was cheered on by a partisan crowd who had supported him throughout the weekend.

“I've just always loved the States ever since I was eight years old when I came out here, first to Albuquerque, then Los Angeles and Las Vegas, which I can't wait for us to go racing at,” he said.

“But I've just always felt really welcome here. The people have been so welcoming.

“Getting to work with lots of great companies, it's a really progressive country and I'm super grateful for the support that we have.”