Race – United States: Hamilton finally makes a comeback!

Stars of the Texas scenario, the Mercedes once again occupied the top of the grid for this eighteenth race of the season. After his pole on Saturday, Lewis Hamilton was ahead of Nico Rosberg. The Circuit of the Americas was hosting the Formula 1 Circus for the fifth time in its history, accompanied by numerous celebrities and a fervent crowd that filled the stands in masses! As since Friday, the sun bathed Texas.

An ideal setting, all in all, to witness an exciting thriller between the two W07s and their drivers.

Would Lewis Hamilton turn the tide and find himself on the top step of the podium again? As a reminder, time is running out for the Briton: with four races left in the season, every detail will now weigh heavily in the balance.

The #USGP is coming up in 30 MINS! ⏰

Who’s ready for the next stage in the /f1/actualite/21455-etats-unis-qualifications-hamilton-se-porte-cette-fois-devant-rosberg-.html #F1 title fight?#USGP 🇺🇸 #F1 pic.twitter.com/VB2ppWy3vW

— Formula 1 (@F1) 23 octobre /f1/actualite/21455-etats-unis-qualifications-hamilton-se-porte-cette-fois-devant-rosberg-.html

In the second row were the two luxury referees for this summit clash. In full progression, Red Bull had an interesting strategy, with a mix of tires between Ricciardo (third, on super-soft tires) and Verstappen (fourth, on soft tires, like the Mercedes).

Further in the casting, Romain Grosjean still made a prominent place for himself on the occasion of his 100th Formula 1 start.

Big day for @RGrosjean as he celebrates his 100th #F1 start

Nice touch from @HaasF1Team #USGP 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/GrfwAIe0Ji

— Formula 1 (@F1) 23 octobre /f1/actualite/21455-etats-unis-qualifications-hamilton-se-porte-cette-fois-devant-rosberg-.html

But the Frenchman started only from 17th place, two spots ahead of Jenson Button, who was also caught in Q1 twenty-four hours earlier.

After a very vibrant American anthem, the 22 drivers took their places in their machines for the start of the formation lap. In prime time on this Sunday evening in Europe (9 PM, Paris time), midday in Texas (2 PM in Austin), it was time to unleash the horses for 56 laps of racing!

Hamilton keeps the lead, Ricciardo passes Rosberg

And the winner of the start was number 3! Starting with his super-soft tires, the Red Bull driver confirmed his hopes by taking the lead against Nico Rosberg in the uphill first turn. Despite a good start, the championship leader prudently conceded and dropped to third. Lewis Hamilton, meanwhile, maintained enough margin and grip to stay in the lead.

Just behind these three men, Verstappen was battling with Vettel, after having been overtaken by Kimi Räikkönen.

Damage was reported in the middle of the pack, with contact between Nico Hülkenberg’s Force India and Valtteri Bottas’s Williams, both of which were too close to Vettel’s Ferrari at T1. The Finn suffered a puncture, and the future Renault driver was the first to step down and retire.

It all got a bit close at Turn 1 on the first lap… 👀#USGP 🇺🇸 #F1 pic.twitter.com/h36a9Poh9e

— Formula 1 (@F1) 23 octobre /f1/actualite/21455-etats-unis-qualifications-hamilton-se-porte-cette-fois-devant-rosberg-.html

Sergio Pérez and Daniil Kyvat clashed at turn 11 of that same first lap, before the long straight. The Mexican spun and lost several positions: the Force India team was already losing big in the race for fourth place in the constructors’ standings.

As a result, the top 10 included the two McLaren-Hondas, ninth (Alonso) and tenth (Button) at that moment. The Haas team had also done well by positioning just behind them. By the seventh lap, the new centenarian was taking the inside on his Gutiérrez in the eleventh turn.

Naturally, the frontrunners took off ahead. And Daniel Ricciardo on his ultra-soft tires was keeping pace with the leader. But the red bands wear quickly in Austin, and as early as the ninth lap, the recent winner of the Sepang race dove into the pits for his first stop. Just like Kimi Räikkönen, who had caught up with Rosberg. Both competitors then rejoined on soft tires, in eighth and ninth positions, with the Ferrari driver passing Jenson Button on his out lap.

Rosberg under threat from Max

More surprising strategy for Verstappen, who got rid of his yellow-banded tires the very next lap. As a result, his race was aligned with Ricciardo and Räikkönen. The front runners were closely watching each other, and Rosberg pitted on the 11th lap to switch to mediums! The German had a close call as he exited just ahead of “Iceman.”

LAP 11/56

ROS is in first, and re-joins in P6

HAM stays out for Mercedes#USGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/PcHUXnKnzD

— Formula 1 (@F1) 23 octobre 2016

The provisional leader in Austin stopped on lap 12 to fit soft tires, briefly relinquishing the lead, which was taken over by Vettel. The German driver made his pit stop on lap 15 and put on a new set of super-softs.

Meanwhile, Räikkönen was overtaken by Verstappen at the end of the long straight, thanks to a very fast pace with his soft tires.

The mix of tires among the six leading team drivers was very interesting: with Vettel on Super-Softs, Rosberg on Mediums, and the others on Softs.

As a result, Verstappen was closing in at high speed on Nico Rosberg. The young Dutchman was breathing down the neck of the championship leader. The radio exchanges between the driver and his race engineer provided a delightful moment, with the former reminding that he hadn’t come for an economy run: “I’m not here to finish fourth!”

Conversely, Lewis Hamilton was pulling away from Daniel Ricciardo’s Red Bull, extending the gap to over five seconds by the 20th lap.

Simultaneously, attention turned to Esteban Gutierrez, who drove straight on the asphalt runoff at the eleventh turn. Once again, doubts were raised about the brake system: one of the two local single-seaters called it quits on the eighteenth lap.

Max steps aside, jackpot for Mercedes

Seven laps later, the second wave of pit stops was already initiated by Räikkönen, who put on the red tires. A strategic gap with other more discreet drivers, like the Sauber of Felipe Nasr, who started 21st and was still on track with his starting medium tires.

And the domino effect resumed, with Daniel Ricciardo stopping the next lap to switch to medium tires.

Stupefaction the following lap with Max Verstappen. Like a reenactment of his teammate in Monaco, the driver got into a dispute with his engineer and entered the pits while his team wasn’t ready. Precious seconds lost, but the responsibility was directly assumed by the driver. This incident went without consequences: the mechanics of his Red Bull gave out anyway on the 30th lap. The Dutchman was driving slowly and retired in the third sector, triggering the deployment of the Virtual Safety Car.

LAP 30/56: Verstappen is slowing…

VES: “I have an engine problem or something!”

He parks the Red Bull and is out of the #USGP 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/f1ahvGcNhI

— Formula 1 (@F1) 23 octobre /f1/actualite/21455-etats-unis-qualifications-hamilton-se-porte-cette-fois-devant-rosberg-.html

Blessing in disguise for Mercedes, who took the opportunity to change tires for their drivers: both Hamilton and Rosberg switched to medium tires during these few laps of interruption. The German had a close call, almost overtaking Wehrlein under the neutralization, which would have definitely cost him a penalty! In any case, the race resumed on lap 43.

What a moment! Rosberg tried to overtake a Manor at the Pit-Lane exit before crossing the starting line (VSC) #USGP pic.twitter.com/4OeOshc31e— LaF1es – SoyMotor (@LaF1es) 23 October /f1/news/21455-united-states-qualifications-hamilton-leads-this-time-ahead-of-rosberg-.html

Fallen to third, the Australian was thus the only Red Bull team member fighting against the Brackley firm. Even though Lewis Hamilton was still in his comfort zone, with a solid pace in this second part of the race. Nico Rosberg had become his first pursuer, about ten seconds behind.

Virtual fifth, Vettel was not lucky with aerodynamic issues disrupting the rear flow of his Ferrari. The German couldn’t compete with Ricciardo and Räikkönen for the battle for third place. However, the former Lotus F1 driver was forced to stop one last time. A stop in the true sense of the word, with a fastening problem on the right rear wheel. In the incident, “Iceman” came to a halt on the slope towards the first corner, and in an unusual scene, let his Ferrari glide into the pit lane entrance to park it.

LAP 39/56

RAI pits, but as he exits his Ferrari grinds to a halt…

📺 Kimi: “There was a [wheel] gun still attached!” 📣#USGP 🇺🇸 #F1 pic.twitter.com/pyCVMnSURi

— Formula 1 (@F1) 23 octobre /f1/actualite/21455-etats-unis-qualifications-hamilton-se-porte-cette-fois-devant-rosberg-.html

After Verstappen, this second retirement of a big player favored Carlos Sainz, who shone in fifth place, as well as Jenson Button and Romain Grosjean, who entered the points with a comfortable margin over the eleventh position (Ericsson, overtaken by Kyvat in the final laps).

The suspense actually turned towards obtaining the fifth place for this American race finale.

Alonso was finishing his last stint strong and catching up with both Sainz and Massa in sixth position. Surprisingly, the McLaren driver dipped in and forcefully passed his former teammate at the fifteenth corner. A great battle between two men who had hardly crossed swords in the past at Ferrari… While the Brazilian suffered in the maneuver with a slow puncture, Alonso continued on his way and tried everything on Sainz: aggressive and rewarding with a new overtake, moving up to fifth position!

But an investigation would be conducted afterward for his overtake on Massa, delaying the final classification validation by a few minutes.

A ranking dominated comprehensively this Sunday by the driver sporting the number 44.

The victory in this United States Grand Prix went to Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes!

🏆 @LewisHamilton‘s win in Texas was also the 50th #F1 victory of his career #USGP 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/8DKLntqlWv

— Formula 1 (@F1) 23 octobre /f1/actualite/21455-etats-unis-qualifications-hamilton-se-porte-cette-fois-devant-rosberg-.html

Second, Nico Rosberg limits the damage as best as he can and sticks to his minimum plan to become world champion. The real third man in /f1/actualite/21455-etats-unis-qualifications-hamilton-se-porte-cette-fois-devant-rosberg-.html, Daniel Ricciardo completes this podium, his seventh of the season. It should be noted here that Sebastian Vettel, as a precaution, went to the pits one last time to put on super-soft tires, which allowed him to secure the fastest lap.

Let us highlight in any case the point scored by Romain Grosjean on American soil for the Haas F1 Team.

Here is the full ranking of this eighteenth race of the season, held in Austin:

#USGP PROVISIONAL CLASSIFICATION: HAM takes the win 🏆 ALO and SAI 👏 GRO and Haas 💪 #F1 pic.twitter.com/XOhyrbHjET

— Formula 1 (@F1) 23 octobre /f1/actualite/21455-etats-unis-qualifications-hamilton-se-porte-cette-fois-devant-rosberg-.html

The 50th victory finally falls into the bag of the triple world champion, the first since almost 3 months, achieved on July 31st at Hockenheim.

Thus, Lewis Hamilton creates another great memory in Texas with this fourth personal victory in Austin, the fifth if you include the one achieved in Indianapolis in 2007. More importantly, he gains 7 points on his deficit against Nico Rosberg in the drivers’ world championship. A victory difference and one point now separate the two men: 26 points.

Note: Approximately an hour and a half after the end of the race, the stewards delivered their verdict on the action involving Alonso and Massa. The decision here was not to penalize the McLaren driver, thus the final standings of this Grand Prix were confirmed.

There will be no further action taken regarding the incident between Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa during the #USGP. #F1 — Formula 1 (@F1) 23 octobre /f1/actualite/21455-etats-unis-qualifications-hamilton-se-porte-cette-fois-devant-rosberg-.html