Four races remain in the 2018 Formula One world championship and this weekend’s United States Grand Prix could see a five-time world champion crowned. Join The Roar for a live blog of the race starting from 5:10am AEDT.
Lewis Hamilton stands on the cusp of becoming only the second driver to have matched the great Juan Manuel Fangio’s record of five titles, with only eight points required over Sebastian Vettel to equal the Argentinian.
The 5.5km Circuit of the Americas is regarded as one of the best modern tracks on the Formula One calendar, with its challenging and technical layout – in addition to an undulating surface.
56-laps comprise the race, which Hamilton has won on five occasions in Texas, since the first race back in 2012.
The only other win in Austin was from Vettel in 2013, however following that – it has been domination from Hamilton and Mercedes AMG.
The Briton already has the ascendency, having claimed pole position over the Ferrari pair, who appear to be back on the pace.
He won’t be joined on the front row of the grid by Vettel, who qualified second but will take a three-place grid drop for not slowing down sufficiently during a red flag scenario in practice.
This will elevate Kimi Räikkönen to the front-row, who will start the race on the ultrasoft tyre and will have the advantage of better grip over Hamilton, who is on the supersoft compound.
With the title realistically out of the picture for Ferrari, do they just allow both their drivers to race freely and in Räikkönen’s situation, does he get a shot at winning his race since 2013?
Vettel now starting behind Valtteri Bottas, can expect Mercedes AMG’s wingman to cause trouble, as the team would be hoping for a clean race for their championship leader.
Daniel Ricciardo will start fourth as a result of the Vettel penalty too, and having not stood on the podium since his Monaco victory – the Aussie will be hoping to end his Red Bull career on a high.
Contesting the ‘Formula 1.5’ championship, as coined by Haas boss in Gene Haas, the coveted sixth place was claimed by Esteban Ocon and his teammate Sergio Perez was also inside the top ten.
Nico Hulkenberg will start ahead of Romain Grosjean in seventh, in the Renault vs Haas battle in the constructor’s championship for fourth – with their respective teammate just outside the ten and on a free choice of tyre for the start.
Will Hamilton then waltz away with a fifth consecutive win in Austin and indeed a fifth world title? Or can Ferrari steal back some pride and only delay the inevitable.
Tune in for live blog coverage of the United States Grand Prix on The Roar from 5:10am AEST on Monday morning, as we await the crowning of a five-time champion.
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
Thanks again for tuning into this live blog on The Roar. I shall return for the Mexican Grand Prix in seven days time. Until then, ciao.
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
So we must wait another week before the championship will be decided. Ultimately a win from Vettel will prolong the affair, though it seems likely that Hamilton for a second consecutive year will win the title in Mexico. Though title aside, what a race and congratulations to Kimi Räikkönen, who will indeed be a popular winner of this race!
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
-------- DRIVER'S -------- 346 - Lewis Hamilton 276 - Sebastian Vettel 221 - Kimi Räikkönen 217 - Valtteri Bottas 191 - Max Verstappen 146 - Daniel Ricciardo 61 -- Nico Hulkenberg 55 -- Kevin Magnussen 54 -- Sergio Perez 53 -- Esteban Ocon 50 -- Fernando Alonso 45 -- Carlos Sainz 31 -- Romain Grosjean 28 -- Pierre Gasly 21 -- Charles Leclerc 8 --- Stoffel Vandoorne 6 --- Marcus Ericsson 6 --- Lance Strol l 2 --- Brendon Hartley 1 --- Sergey Sirotkin
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
----- CONSTRUCTOR'S ----- 563 - Mercedes AMG 497 - Scuderia Ferrari 337 - Aston Martin Red Bull Racing 106 - Renault Sport 86 -- Haas Ferrari 58 -- McLaren Renault 48 -- Racing Point Force India Mercedes 30 -- Red Bull Toro Rosso Honda 27 -- Alfa Romeo Sauber 7 --- Williams Mercedes
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
RACE REPORT It’s taken 113 races and one of the longest droughts between victories in Formula One history, but Kimi Räikkönen has broken through to win the United States Grand Prix in what was a Texas thriller. In a race that had the championship in the balance for Lewis Hamilton, it was the Finn who won his first race since 2013, who made the better start on the ultrasoft tyres to take the lead off pole-sitter Hamilton into Turn 1. From there, it wasn’t all plain sailing for the 2007 world champion, having had to defend staunchly from the attacking Mercedes AMG in the opening stint of the race. Though the decision to leave the 39-year old out at the end of Lap-11, whilst Hamilton pitted – proved to be the decisive moment in the race. Räikkönen pitted on Lap-22 for the soft tyres and had the luxury of running on those tyres till the end of the race, whilst Hamilton was forced to make a second stop on Lap-38 and had to race back to third. Ultimately for the title, Hamilton’s third place wasn’t enough to secure a fifth championship, with Sebastian Vettel having still finished fifth, despite a grid penalty and then being spun round for tagging the Red Bull of Daniel Ricciardo early in the race. Hamilton had to pass the incredible Max Verstappen, who from eighteenth on the grid was inside the top ten at the end of the first lap and then on his soft tyres ran long to challenge the leaders. The Dutchman was able to keep the champion-elect at bay, in what was a thrilling conclusion to the race, which saw the top three all within a second of each other. It was a key result for Renault too, having secured both their cars inside the top seven, to extend their lead over Haas in the constructor’s championship – who lost Romain Grosjean amongst the first lap chaos, which also claimed the scalp of Fernando Alonso. Both Force Indias also claimed top ten finishes to close the gap on McLaren for their sixth position in the standings too. An unfortunate race for Ricciardo, who again found himself as a retiree in Austin, with a complete electrical failure in his Red Bull. With Hamilton’s opportunity denied in what was a thrilling race, he will now have to turn his sights to Mexico in seven days’ time to secure a fifth title.
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
POST-RACE INTERVIEWS - Hosted by Martin Brundle RÄIKKÖNEN - "It's been a great weekend, I got a good start and had to push hard." "Obviously I'm much happier than finishing second." VERSTAPPEN - "A bit unexpected, a good start and good first lap." "We made the right call to undercut Valtteri." "Unfortunately on the last few laps I ran out of supersoft tyres." HAMILTON - "Max was on a slightly better tyre than us at the end." "We have to keep pushing to the next race." "I'm not really sure how the strategy ended up like that."
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
RESULTS FROM THE 56-LAP UNITED STATES GRAND PRIX 1 K. Räikkönen 2 M. Verstappen 3 L. Hamilton 4 S. Vettel 5 V. Bottas 6 N. Hulkenberg 7 C. Sainz 8 E. Ocon 9 K. Magnussen 10 S. Perez 11 B. Hartley 12 M. Ericsson 13 S. Vandoorne 14 P. Gasly 15 S. Sirotkin 16 L. Strol l RET C. Leclerc RET D. Ricciardo RET R. Grosjean RET F. Alonso
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
KIMI RÄIKKÖNEN WINS THE UNITED STATES GRAND PRIX A drought that dates back to 2013 is at last broken for The Iceman! Max Verstappen earns his first podium in Austin with second, having a stellar drive from eighteenth on the grid. And Lewis Hamilton has to be content with third, whilst having to wait another week to claim the championship.
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
Lap 56/56: FINAL LAP
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
Lap 55/56: 2 LAPS TO GO Bottas brakes too deep at the end of the straight and allows Vettel into fourth! So mathematically this title goes into the next race at Mexico, but regardless this has been an incredible race.
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
Lap 54/56: Hamilton all of a sudden had the better traction in Sector 3 and he tried to race wheel-to-wheel, but ultimately lost out and drops back. That's it for the Briton today you'd think.
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
Lap 53/56: Hamilton and Vettel lining up Verstappen and Bottas once again. Hamilton trying to use the DRS down the back straight, but can't seem to get alongside the Red Bull.
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
Lap 52/56: 5 LAPS TO GO
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
Lap 51/56: The status quo remains then, as we see Vettel drop to a 2 second deficit now from Bottas. Hamilton backing off a little too.
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
Lap 50/56: Both Hamilton and Vettel are within DRS range of their rivals now in Verstappen and Bottas. Game on.
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
Lap 49/56: Vettel looking a little detached now from Bottas then, making the situation more favouable for Hamilton at the moment.
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
Lap 48/56: If Vettel stays fifth and Hamilton passes the Red Bull for P2, the Briton will be champion. If Vettel passes Bottas for P4, Hamilton needs a win to claim the title.
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
Lap 47/56: Hamilton also 1.4 seconds behind Verstappen now, as Vettel trails Bottas by 1.4 seconds too. Any overtakes now, will have championship implications.
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
Lap 46/56: Vettel within DRS range of Bottas now.
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
Lap 45/56: A personal best lap from Räikkönen means that he's still got some grip available in those tyres and he will need it to defend from the likes of Verstappen and Hamilton.