Motoring / F1

F1 United States of America Grand Prix 2017 Report: Lewis Hamilton wins, extinguishing Sebastian Vettel’s hopes

Lewis Hamilton wins again at the US grand prix scoring his sixty-second victory in the sport effectively extinguishing Sebastian Vettel’s hopes of clinching the drivers world championship.

Oct 23, 2017 | By Sanesh Balasingam

Lewis Hamilton wins again at the F1 US grand prix 2017 scoring his sixty-second victory in the sport effectively extinguishing Sebastian Vettel’s hopes of clinching the drivers world championship. Max Verstappen pus on a great drive only to throw it all away after nearly causing an accident allowing Kimi Raikkonen the chance to take the third spot on the podium. Sebastian Vettel comes in second giving the Prancing Horses a second and third place on the podium. Daniel Ricciardo is forced to retire on his eleventh lap due to suspension issues.

United States of America Grand Prix 2017 Report

They say its always bigger in Texas and the Formula One management pulled out all the stops to ensure its ‘home’ race under the new management of Liberty Media was a grand affair. To kick off the afternoon race, legendary boxing announcer Michael Buffer introduced each pair of drivers as if it was fight night in Vegas. Then President Bill Clinton made a surprise appearance on the grid and later on the podium handing Lewis Hamilton his winner’s trophy, smiling and posing for pictures. Usain Bolt made his F1 debut appearance at a Formula One race, and later interviewed the drivers on the podium. Michael Douglas was also amongst the A listers present.

Then it was time to start the race. Hamilton who had qualified in pole position on Saturday set yet another track record during qualifying making him the all time fastest on two tracks in two consecutive races. He of course, set another track record in Suzuka, Japan, just two weeks prior.

Hamilton had a tricky start to the race. In a bid to push Vettel slightly to the left of the track, Hamilton ended up overextending allowing Vettel to take the lead. The two continued to duel over the next few laps but once Hamilton got back in the lead, he stormed straight to victory. Vettel tried to chase him but the Prancing Horse simply did not have the pace. This even after they had replaced the chassis of Sebastian Vettel’s car ahead of this race. Valterri Bottas, fellow Silver Arrow driver started the race in third but finished in fourth after a penalty.

Daniel Ricciardo, who started the race aggressively chasing down and hoping to overtake the car of Bottas ended up having to pull over after just eleven laps due to a suspension problem. It seems like the Red Bull Racing driver has only had an all or nothing roll this year. Max Verstappen, his teammate and Red Bull Racing’s best chance of the podium finish, drove well but was penalised in the end due to an overtake that almost resulted in an accident with Kimi Raikkonen.

Mercedes AMG Petronas cliched their fourth F1 Constructors Championship title in a row since hybrid powered engine were introduced back in in 2014. The mood in the teams garage were jubilant with team boss Toto Wolff and Chairman Nikki Lauder along with Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas spraying champagne and toasting their hard-earned success.


 
Back to top