It was bright, sunny & overall great conditions for racing in Austin, Texas & what a race, what a race indeed. This season has not failed to disappoint and there's still 2 races left.
When the lights went out, the 17 cars were ready for 56 laps of pure adrenaline. Rosberg had a strong start & was eager to gain a lead to stay ahead of team-mate, Lewis Hamilton. But the Brit was right in Nico's mirrors, ready to fight for that win.
In the middle of the pack, we saw the collision between Perez, Sutil & Raikkonen. Perez was closing in on a gap, trying to overtake the Sauber, while also trying to avoid the Ferrari. But things didn't work. As Kimi rounded the corner, Perez unfortunately made contact with the back of the Ferrari, which caused his car to slide into the side of Sutil's Sauber. This caused damage to both of the cars, ending the race for both Perez and Sutil. Kimi was lucky to escape with minor damage to the rear of his car.
It ended up being a double DNF for Sahara Force India when only a handful of laps later, Nico Hulkenberg slowed and pulled over to a stop, before hopping out of the car. He'd reported a loss of power. It turned out to be an engine issue that ended his race.
Meanwhile, up at the front, Lewis was continuing to fight, trying to overtake his team-mate. It was not an easy task as Nico was not about to let his chance of a victory slip away. British and German flags were held up high and people cheered as the two Mercedes passed by at nerve-raising speeds.
Two other drivers who had their own wheel-to-wheel battle going were Jenson Button & Fernando Alonso. Around every turn it seemed one was in front of the other, until Alonso gained the position and Jenson was called in for a pit-stop.
Esteban Gutierrez, the lone Sauber on the track, was putting in his best efforts to catch up after having to take a 5 second drive through penalty for speeding behind the earlier Safety Car. He was not the only one either. Button, Maldonado & Vergne were all investigated for either speeding in the Pit-Lane or speeding behind the Safety car. Button was the only one who was cleared from investigation & did not receive a penalty.
Maldonado impressed when he fought his way to the end in Tenth and got his first point of the season. However, that changed when Jean-Eric Vergne was given 5 seconds added to his race time for a collision with Pastor's team-mate, Romain Grosjean. That meant Maldonado was promoted to 9th with now 2 championship points.
In the end, Lewis Hamilton was the one who brought home the win in Austin, making it his 5th consecutive win and also his second win at COTA. Rosberg came in second while Ricciardo held back the Williams duo long enough for that last spot on the podium.
So, with the race complete and another victory celebrated, it's time for the next race. The teams are off to Sao Paulo, Brazil!
RESULTS:
1. Lewis Hamilton / Mercedes-Mercedes / Great Britain / + 25 Points
2. Nico Rosberg / Mercedes-Mercedes / Germany / + 18 Points
3. Daniel Ricciardo / Red Bull-Renault / Australia / 15 Points
4. Felipe Massa / Williams-Mercedes / Brazil / + 12 Points
5. Valtteri Bottas / Williams-Mercedes / Finland / + 10 Points
6. Fernando Alonso / Ferrari-Ferrari / Spain / + 8 Points
7. Sebastian Vettel / Red Bull-Renault / Germany / + 6 Points
8. Kevin Magnussen / McLaren-Mercedes / Denmark / + 4 Points
9. Pastor Maldonado / Lotus-Renault / Venezuela / + 2 Points
10. Jean-Eric Vergne / Toro Rosso-Renault / France / + 1 Point
11. Romain Grosjean / Lotus-Renault / France
12. Jenson Button / McLaren-Mercedes / Great Britain
13. Kimi Raikkonen / Ferrari-Ferrari / Finland
14. Esteban Gutierrez / Sauber-Ferrari / Mexico
15. Daniil Kvyat / Toro Rosso-Renault / Russia
DNF - Nico Hulkenberg / Force India-Mercedes / Germany / Engine Failure
DNF - Sergio Perez / Force India-Mercedes / Mexico / Collision Damage
DNF - Adrian Sutil / Sauber-Ferrari / Germany / Collision Damage
----
Follow us on Twitter @F1Insider78 for updates and the latest news.
----
Article Written By: Amy Hawk.
No copyright infringement intended
