US GP: Race - Re-Cap & Results

US GP - RACE - RE-CAP & RESULTS

    As the lights went out for the 6th straight year at Circuit of The Americas, it was all or nothing for Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel, who have both been pushing harder than ever in hopes of winning the 2017 Drivers Championship. 

    It was Vettel who got the better start, easily getting around the silver Mercedes. However, with an easy game of catch-up, Hamilton would re-take the lead by lap 6.

    Nico Hulkenberg found himself to be the first retirement of the race and it was only 4 laps in that he suffered from an engine issue. New team-mate, Carlos Sainz, had better mechanical luck and finished his first race for Renault in the points, bringing the car home in 7th.

    Pascal Wehrlein was the next retirement after a collision with Magnussen. There were no penalties given but Magnussen has had plenty of heat lately surrounding his driving. He had already picked up a 3-Place-Grid-Penalty for impeding Perez during Qualifying. Magnussen then later collided with Wehrlein's team-mate, Ericsson, but it was Ericsson who was found guilty of causing the collision. The Swedish driver had a 5-Second-Time-Penalty added to his final race time.

    Both Alonso and Ricciardo also fell victim to engine issues, with both drivers retiring before lap 30. Alonso recently signed on to stay at McLaren for 2018. The team will be using Renault engines next year and it could be a chance for the team to fight for podiums and potential wins after a long drought.

    Force India ended their weekend with another double-points haul. Perez finished in 8th, while team-mate, Ocon, finished in 6th after battling an illness that left him feeling miserable during Qualifying the day before. Perez had been battling an illness as well during the Malaysian GP weekend and had required IV fluids.

    Brendon Hartley made his F1 race debut and finished in 13th, just a few places away from grabbing a championship point. Kvyat, who got called back to race after being replaced at Malaysia and Japan by Pierre Gasly, managed to grab that last point by bringing his Toro Rosso home in 10th. However, this proved to be not enough for him to stay on for the Mexican GP as the team decides to run Hartley and Gasly instead.

    Lewis Hamilton brought home the win after a tough battle, trying to fight Vettel off nearly the whole way through. Vettel still prevailed as he crossed the finish line in 2nd. An important finish that keeps him in the running for the 2017 title. 

    Max Verstappen battled his way to third after a slight collision with Valtteri Bottas and a high-speed overtake on Kimi Raikkonen in the final corners on the last lap. However, he was handed a 5-Second-Time-Penalty after as he had taken all 4 wheels off the track when making the move.

    Verstappen expressed his disappointment and confusion in the media afterward, citing that Bottas had taken all 4 wheels off the track in their earlier battle but had not received any penalty at all. Thus shows what appears to be inconsistency in the rules. 3rd place was handed to Raikkonen, who looked a little shocked to suddenly be up on the podium with a trophy.

    While Hamilton still has plenty to fight for, he was quick to celebrate as Mercedes received the 2017 Constructors trophy and title.

RESULTS:

1. Lewis Hamilton / Mercedes-Mercedes / Great Britain / + 25 Points

2. Sebastian Vettel / Ferrari-Ferrari / Germany / + 18 Points

3. Kimi Raikkonen / Ferrari-Ferrari / Finland / + 15 Points

4. Max Verstappen / Red Bull-TAG-Heuer / Netherlands / + 12 Points*

5. Valtteri Bottas / Mercedes-Mercedes / Finland / + 10 Points

6. Esteban Ocon / Force India-Mercedes / France / + 8 Points

7. Carlos Sainz / Renault-Renault / Spain / + 6 Points

8. Sergio Perez / Force India-Mercedes / Mexico / + 4 Points

9. Felipe Massa / Williams-Mercedes / Brazil / + 2 Points

10. Daniil Kvyat / Toro Rosso-Renault / Russia / + 1 Point

11. Lance Stroll / Williams-Mercedes / Canada 

12. Stoffel Vandoorne / McLaren-Honda / Belgium

13. Brendon Hartley / Toro Rosso-Renault / New Zealand

14. Romain Grosjean / Haas-Ferrari / France

15. Marcus Ericsson / Sauber-Ferrari / Sweden**

16. Kevin Magnussen / Haas-Ferrari / Denmark

RETIRED - Fernando Alonso / McLaren-Honda / Spain / Engine

RETIRED - Daniel Ricciardo / Red Bull-TAG-Heuer / Australia / Engine

RETIRED - Pascal Wehrlein / Sauber-Ferrari / Germany / Collision Damage

RETIRED - Nico Hulkenberg / Renault-Renault / Germany / Engine

* - Notes Verstappen originally finished 3rd but received a 5-Second-Time-Penalty for taking all 4 wheels off the track while overtaking Raikkonen

** - Notes Ericsson received a 5-Second-Time-Penalty for causing a collision with Magnussen

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Article Written By: Amy Hawk

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