Hamilton Makes History
Lewis
Hamilton took victory at the U.S grand prix and in doing so, ensured a third
World Championship, becoming the first British driver to successfully defend
his title. He also joins an elite list of drivers, including his idol, Ayrton
Senna in winning three championships. Nico Rosberg finished second after a
mistake cost him victory, and the chance to extend the championship race for a
further week. Sebastian Vettel took third after coming through from 14th,
with Max Verstappen taking a fantastic fourth. Sergio Perez finished fifth with
Jenson Button taking a brilliant sixth place. Carlos Sainz, who started last,
finished behind Button in seventh, with Pastor Maldonado eighth, Felipe Nasr
ninth and Daniel Ricciardo rounding off the top ten. It could have been all so
different at the front however, with changeable conditions from the start and
virtual safety cars and individual errors. Ultimately though, the day belonged
to Hamilton, who took his tenth victory of the season.
The whole
weekend in Austin had been a complete washout, with qualifying not taking place
until the Sunday morning, and even then the rain was still coming down hard.
The session only got as far as Q2, where the conditions were deemed unsafe.
Nico Rosberg took pole position ahead of Hamilton; but with the race only hours
later, the forecast was that the rain would pass and we could go racing.
When the time
for the race came, it was still very damp, with everyone starting off on the
intermediate tyre. With a tricky first corner on the cards, it was Hamilton who
got to turn one first, but with a seemingly over aggressive move on Rosberg,
forcing the German off track. This saw him drop down into fifth place behind
the Red Bull pair of Dani Kvyat and Daniel Ricciardo and Sergio Perez's Force
India. In the damper conditions, it was the Red Bull's that looked more
comfortable, with Kyvat taking the lead from Hamilton with ease, but ran wide
and surrendered that lead before the first virtual safety car of the day
occurred.
When the
racing resumed, the track began to dry out and drivers started to struggle with
the intermediates. Ricciardo wasn't struggling however, and breezed past the
struggling Hamilton for the lead. Hamilton's struggles then allowed Rosberg
past for second before drivers started pitting for dry tyres. The dry tyres saw
the Red Bull charge dwindle, and both Rosberg and Hamilton resumed a Mercedes
one-two, with Rosberg leading and pulling a gap to Hamilton. A safety car
period caused by Nico Hulkenberg's broken Force India brought Hamilton back
into the play, only for a second virtual safety car to hamper Hamilton again,
as he stayed out and Rosberg pitted for fresh tyres. This wasn't the last twist
in this race however, as a heavy crash from Kvyat brought out the safety car
again, allowing Hamilton to pit without losing position and able to challenge
Rosberg. On fresh rubber, Hamilton put pressure on Rosberg and forced him into
an unforced error, costing him victory and the opportunity make Hamilton wait
another week at least for his title.
Sainz and Verstappen Talent Shines
Again
Many people
pay so much attention to the fact that Red Bull have threatened to quit F1 next
year if they can't get a competitive engine deal. What many people haven't
seemed to pay attention to is the fact that that pull-out could also have an
effect on Toro Rosso. Don't get me wrong, there has been whisperings of their future
as well but not on the scale that it should be on.
This is a
team with so much talent it would be an absolute travesty is it wasn't on the
grid next season. The U.S grand prix was a prime example of the sheer talent
the team possess. Obviously, it isn't the only time this season that we have
seen both drivers drive tremendous races, but it just highlights what the team
itself brings to the grid. Max Verstappen will be a World Champion one day that
much is clear; his 4th place in the U.S grand prix was another testament to how
good he is. When everyone was struggling in the damp conditions, Verstappen
kept control and drove a brilliant race. Carlos Sainz, despite a few silly
errors, especially speeding in the pit lane, finished a solid seventh place.
This was after starting last on the grid! Had he not have had a time penalty,
he would have finished sixth. Again, his on track overtakes and coolness behind
the wheel is something that can't be ignored. Like I have said before, it is
just a pity for him that Verstappen is his team mate this year. Hopefully, this
team will be here next year because this would be a colossal waste of talent.
Sauber Celebrate 400th GP Weekend
It wasn't
just Lewis Hamilton celebrating a milestone at the U.S grand prix. Sauber
celebrated their 400th GP weekend, a magnificent achievement for the small team
from Switzerland, who have been in the sport since 1993. The team has had many
ups and downs over the last 22 years, but still have a rich history within the
sport. Many great drivers have driven for them over the years, including former
World Champion Jacque Villeneuve, although he wasn't to be the driver to
deliver the teams first, and only win in F1. Under the BMW guise, Robert Kubica
stepped up on a crazy and dramatic day at the 2008 Canadian GP, and headed a
BMW Sauber one-two with team mate Nick Heidfeld. When BMW left the sport at the
end of 2009, Peter Sauber bought back control of the full team. It has been a difficult
five years financially for the team, who have never made any secret of this. Despite
this, on track they have had some very strong performances, most notably in
Malaysia 2012, where Sergio Perez probably should have won the race, only to be
beaten to the flag by Fernando Alonso and ended up second. The team has done
brilliantly with the limited resources at its disposal, and I'm sure that they
will be racing against the odd for many more years to come. Here's to another
400 GP weekends.
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