Lewis Hamilton's nightmare United States GP weekend ends in gravel

Lewis Hamilton has retired from the F1 United States Grand Prix after an early spin.

The seven-time world champion had made a superb start to jump up from 17th on the grid to 12th on the opening lap, but his participation in Sunday's race lasted no more than two laps. 

On the third lap, Hamilton lost control of his Mercedes when it suffered a sudden snap through Turn 19 and ended up being beached in the gravel. 

It was reminiscent of Mercedes teammate George Russell's spin at the same corner during qualifying, though unlike Russell, Hamilton did not hit the barriers. 

Hamilton, who usually excels at COTA, has endured a nightmare weekend in the United States. 

He qualified a frustrated seventh before finishing sixth in the sprint race. 

Hamilton then suffered a disastrous qualifying after being eliminated in Q1 with his worst-ever qualifying result in the USA in 19th. 

It is the first time Hamilton has failed to finish a race at Austin.