Lewis Hamilton believes he might as well start from the pit lane in the United States GP in order to have a free change of set-up for Sunday’s race after a “nightmare” qualifying session left him on the back two rows of the grid.

The record six-time winner of the US GP – five victories of which have come at the Circuit of the Americas – was unexpectedly knocked out in the first stage of qualifying on Saturday after setting the 19th-fastest time out of the 20 drivers. He is due to start one place higher in 18th owing to an engine penalty for RB’s Liam Lawson.

Hamilton’s shock early exit came amid a miserable Saturday for Mercedes in Austin.

Despite the promise shown in Friday’s initial running as they introduced their final upgrade package of the season, the team went into Saturday’s qualifying on the back of a disappointing 19-lap Sprint race earlier in the day when Hamilton and team-mate George Russell had badly struggled with tyre wear, finishing in distant sixth and fifth positions respectively.

Hamilton then dropped out early in qualifying for Sunday’s full-length race before Russell’s session ended in the barriers when he crashed out at the end of Q3 when only a provisional sixth on the grid.

Speaking after his first-ever Q1 exit in Austin in 12 visits, Hamilton revealed his day had been sent into a tailspin by a mechanical problem on his way to the grid in the Sprint.

“In the Sprint we had some sort of failure from the formation lap on the front suspension,” explained Hamilton.

“I had that throughout the Sprint race. That made the balance really difficult.

“We changed a couple of things which pushed us in the direction in what we would have done yesterday. The car was a nightmare in qualifying.

“I should probably start in the pit lane, otherwise I won’t be going anywhere from where I am.”

Teams trigger an automatic pit-lane start for their car if they take it out of post-qualifying ‘parc ferme’, by choice or necessity, to make fundamental changes to set-up.

As well as overhauling his W15, Mercedes could change the car’s wing settings in order to give Hamilton a better chance of overtaking cars and mounting a comeback towards the points.

Hamilton and Russell both started their final attempts of Q1 in the drop zone after failing to set competitive times on an initially used set of soft tyres. But while Russell progressed to Q2 in fourth place after they switched to new tyres for the final runs, Hamilton’s initially-promising start to his lap completely unravelled when he ran wide under braking at Turn 12.

NASCAR teams are always looking for ways to get ahead, and sometimes that means bending the rules. Alex Bowman’s #48 team, however, pushed too far at the Roval race, with NASCAR officials finding the car underweight in the post-race inspection. This violation cost Bowman his playoff spot just as he was finding his stride.

Though some thought the team might appeal, they accepted the penalty. While reactions have been mixed, Chase Elliott stepped up to defend Bowman’s team, pointing out that the weight issue likely didn’t impact his race performance.

Setting up the race cars is one of the crucial factors that can make or break a driver’s fortunes on the racetrack. Team engineers and crew chiefs try their best to find that extra bit of performance with their skill set. Back in the day, you could clearly identify the top running teams based on speed and their set-up. However, in the Next-Gen era and parity racing, it is hard to find that differentiating factor.

Everyone is running with the same parts spruced by NASCAR’s licensed third-party vendors. So, the team setting up the cars has little space in how they can find that extra bit of edge over the competition. It’s hard to guess if Blake Harris and the team intentionally tempered with the weight of the #48 Chevy, but given the verdict, it’s evident that they pushed beyond the limits.

For some, this is appalling, but for a regular like Chase Elliott, this is how the game is played. But was disappointed to see his teammate being on the bitter end of things after the Roval race. “It’s a delicate line, but one that us as competitors across the sport, you have to push the boundaries as much as you can because there’s performance in different areas, and you have to do that, and everyone’s doing that. So trying to find that balance.”

Dale Earnhardt Sr. is one of the most revered names in NASCAR. Popularly known as ‘The Intimidator’, Dale Sr. was the most dominant driver in his era. Known for his aggressive driving style, the NASCAR legend in his 676 race starts bagged 76 wins and seven Cup Series championships from 1975 to 2001. Feb. 18, 2001, is regarded as one of the darkest days in NASCAR, as a crash in the Daytona 500 led to his demise.

However, he is still and will probably always be considered among the greatest of all time. His legacy is being continued by his son, Dale Earnhardt Jr. And Jr. wished to continue his father’s legacy with the Dale Earnhardt Inc. racing team. However, due to ownership battles with his stepmother Teresa Earnhardt that were Teresa became probably the most unliked Earnhardt. n’t possible, this led to an uproar from Intimidator’s fans, basically all the NASCAR fans. And Teresa became probably the most unliked Earnhardt. Recently, another move by Teresa has deeply upset the legend’s fans.

Teresa Earnhardt is yet again accused of dishonoring Dale Earnhardt Sr.

Teresa became a target for trolling since her fallout with Dale Earnhardt Jr., all thanks to the latter’s huge fan following. The two-time Xfinity Series champion started his NASCAR career with DEI in 1999. However, after being nine years with the team that his father started, Jr. moved to Hendrick Motorsports. This was since Junior asked Teresa to give him 51% ownership in the team, which she promptly refused, saying if Jr. left, the team would “make another Dale Earnhart Jr.” For the remainder of his career, Dale Jr. stuck with Hendrick Motorsports, and DEI shut operations soon after his exit.

Had Dale Earnhardt Jr. not left, the team would probably still flourish. Naturally, he is a fan favorite, and Teresa has always gotten quite the opposite response. In another move, Teresa Earnhardt has invited backlash. Recently, as reported by the Charlotte Observer, Teresa Earnhardt has planned to transform 399 of her rural acres in east Mooresville into an industrial park, according to her rezoning application for the vast former farmland property. The large piece of land is amongst many Dale Sr acquired during his time and is considered part of his legacy.

In fact, the land that is going to be converted into an industrial park is largely wooded and was probably the hunting ground for Dale Earnhardt Sr. Senior’s hunting exploits, which are as legendary as his NASCAR career. One of his closest friends, Donnie Rives, had recently spoken about how the legend had gifted eyesight to scout his hunting targets. The land is a memory of Dale Earnhardt Sr., and fans believe an industrial zone is not something he would have liked.

Teresa Earnhardt is the third wife of Dale Earnhardt Sr., and after the legend’s passing, she inherited almost everything Sr. owned, including his race team and properties. Her rift with Dale Sr.’s son is just one of the instances where she’s been accused of sabotaging the Earnhardt name.

Teresa also filed a lawsuit against Kerry Earnhardt, the intimidator’s oldest son. When he planned to roll out a line of homes and furniture called “The Earnhardt Collection,” Over the many family disputes in the Earnhardt family, fans strongly believe Sr. would have not liked this. One fan wrote, “Dale would be ashamed.”

Additionally, Teresa’s management of DEI has been controversial, with fans often arguing that she prioritized financial gains over family relationships and Dale Sr.’s legacy. Similar to the case of the recent farmland conversion. This has some fans questioning Dale Earnhardt Sr.’s choice to marry Teresa. One fan wrote, “What a shame…can’t believe Dale was married to this woman” Another one echoed the same emotions and noted that Sr would not have allowed this if he were alive. The fan on this note wrote, “Dale would be very pissed.”

Some fans even wondered how Dale Jr. reacted to this news. A fan wrote, “Interested to hear Dale Jr.’s thoughts on this. That’s a lot of land. I wonder if that was some of Dale Srs. hunting land.” However, the recent past has shown that Jr. has little to no interest in locking horns with his stepmother yet again. When the trademark of the iconic #8 font expired, Dale Jr. had said he was okay with it being with Teresa as long as it stayed in the Earnhardt family.