Mercedes AMG’s Lewis Hamilton edged closer to securing his second Formula One World Championship by winning yesterday’s United States Grand Prix at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas. His teammate Nico Rosberg finished second, 4.3 seconds behind the leader.
Rosberg started the race from pole and for much of it appeared destined to win. But midway Hamilton started to catch up with his teammate and on lap 24 managed to overtake him in a risky move. The Briton almost immediately created a gap after and from there on it was only a matter of controlling the race.
MUST SEE: 'Furious 7' First Trailer Released: Video
This was Mercedes AMG’s tenth one-two finish of the season, equaling the record set by McLaren in 1988. It was also Hamilton’s 10th win of the season, and his 32nd overall. He now has more F1 victories under his belt than any other British driver and is tied fifth with Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso in the all-time winners list.
It wasn’t all about the Mercedes AMG drivers, however. Infiniti Red Bull Racing’s Daniel Ricciardo showed why he’s a force to be reckoned with by recovering from a slow start to secure third place. Behind him finished the two Williams drivers Felipe Massa and Valtteri Bottas in fourth and fifth places, respectively.
There wasn’t much drama, although we did see the safety car come out on just the first lap due to Force India driver Sergio Perez initially clipping Ferrari driver Kimi Räikkönen and then crashing heavily into Sauber’s Adrian Sutil. Both Perez and Sutil were forced to retire. Force India’s other driver Nico Hulkenberg also later retired due to engine trouble.
DON'T MISS: 'Furious 7' Will See The Return Of Race Wars!
Alonso eventually finished the race in sixth more than a minute and a half behind the leader. Close behind the Spaniard was reigning world champion Sebastian Vettel. He suffered a puncture early on after running over debris left by the crash of Perez and Sutil.
Eighth place went to McLaren youngster Kevin Magnussen while Lotus’ Pastor Maldonado took ninth and Toro Rosso’s Jean-Eric Vergne rounded out the top ten.
With the United States Grand Prix over, teams now tackle the usual back-to-back race schedule of the season’s end, packing up and setting off for Sao Paulo, Brazil where the action will resume this coming weekend. After that there is the final race in Abu Dhabi.
Given the standings in the 2014 Drivers’ Championship, it means the title will be going to one of the Mercedes AMG drivers. At this point, it looks like Hamilton will be declared champion as he has a 24 points lead over Rosberg, who sits on 292 points. Ricciardo is third with 214 points. In the Constructors’ Championship, Mercedes AMG has already been declared the champion and currently sits on 608 points. Infiniti Red Bull Racing is second with 363 points while Williams is in third with 238 points.
Below are top ten results of the 2014 Formula One United States Grand Prix:
1) Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes AMG
2) Nico Rosberg, Mercedes AMG
3) Daniel Ricciardo, Infiniti Red Bull Racing
4) Felipe Massa, Williams
5) Valtteri Bottas, Williams
6) Fernando Alonso, Ferrari
7) Sebastian Vettel, Infiniti Red Bull Racing
8) Kevin Magnussen, McLaren
9) Pastor Maldonado, Lotus
10) Jean-Eric Vergne, Toro Rosso
_______________________________________
