United States Grand Prix 2014 F1: Top 10 Readers’ Results!

The seventeenth Grand Prix of the season, in Austin, was won by Lewis Hamilton ahead of Nico Rosberg and Daniel Ricciardo. The rest of the top 10 included, in order, Felipe Massa, Valtteri Bottas, Fernando Alonso, Sebastian Vettel, Kevin Magnussen, Pastor Maldonado, and Jean-Eric Vergne. Let’s see what the 91 voters have decided…

Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)

With his fifth consecutive victory and the tenth of the season, the Briton increased his lead over his teammate, but not enough to be safe before Abu Dhabi. His race was reminiscent of the Italian and Japanese GPs, consistently applying moderate pressure on Rosberg before delivering the final blow and decisively passing him at turn 1.

2. Daniel Ricciardo (Red Bull)

Once again, the Australian finished on the podium this season and delivered an aggressive race both in terms of overtaking and strategy to outmaneuver the two Williams.

3. Nico Rosberg (Mercedes)

Starting from pole and leading for 23 laps, the German driver couldn’t secure himself against his teammate and could only acknowledge his powerlessness when the latter attacked. Subsequently, despite a gap maintained around 2 – 2.5 seconds, car number 6 didn’t have the opportunity to return the favor to the championship leader.

4. Felipe Massa (Williams)

The Brazilian, who had a discreet race, took advantage of his very good start to gain an advantage over his teammate. Subsequently, he suffered from Ricciardo’s undercut and couldn’t really challenge the Red Bull, while comfortably staying ahead of Bottas.

5. Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull)

Starting from the pits, the four-time world champion aimed for 7th place in the race. He reached it, not without difficulty, after a challenging first part of the GP. Taking advantage of the first safety car to get rid of a set of soft tires, he then struggled with the lack of grip from the RB10 before regaining control and finishing on Alonso’s heels.

6. Valtteri Bottas (Williams)

Before the race, the Finn knew that aiming for the podium would be difficult, but ultimately he couldn’t even compete with his teammate. The missed start sealed his fate, as did Ricciardo’s strategy which he didn’t see again afterward.

7. Fernando Alonso (Ferrari)

Quickly overtaken by the Williams and the aggressive Ricciardo, the Spaniard maintained a good position and even engaged in a fierce battle with Button before mid-race. At the end of the GP, he remained steady before having to increase his pace to prevent Vettel from surprising him.

8. Jean-Eric Vergne (Toro Rosso)

For a long time on the edge of the top 10 and trailing Grosjean, the Parisian – initially penalized with a 5-second penalty for speeding under the safety car – eventually gained the advantage over his compatriot in a borderline maneuver that was also sanctioned by the stewards. Despite this, he managed to stay ahead of his pursuers and brought back a point from Austin.

9. Pastor Maldonado (Lotus)

Also penalized with a 5-second penalty for speeding during the race neutralization, the Venezuelan then produced a discreet race tinged with opportunism when he gained the advantage over his teammate. In the very last lap, his spectacular maneuver against Vergne allowed him to grab the 2 points for 9th place, his first of the season.

10. Romain Grosjean (Lotus)

It is one of the big losers of the race: the Frenchman, long settled in the top 10, suffered the consequences of Vergne’s aggressive overtaking and could only assess the damage to his Lotus at the end of the race, an E22 that was performing particularly well in Texas.