Hamilton wins in Texasposted in F102 | 11 | 2014
LEWIS HAMILTON STRENGTHENED his grip on the Formula One World Championship when he beat main rival Nico Rosberg in the US Grand Prix.
The win was Hamilton's fifth successive grand price victory, and 10th of the season, and eased him into a 24-point lead with just two races remaining.
Hamilton's win, the 32nd of his career, also means he has now won more F1 races than any other British driver. It was also Mercedes 10th 1-2 finish of the season, equalling the record set by McLaren in 1988.
Polesitter Rosberg led the opening stint on the Circuit of the Americas at Austin, Texas, as Hamilton struggled with a set of soft Pirelli tyres that he flat-spotted during qualifying.
But when the duo switched to the medium compound at the first pitstop, Hamilton set about hauling the leader in, eventually powering passed the German by using DRS and diving down the inside under braking for Turn 12 on lap 24 of 56.
Afterwards, Rosberg admitted he had made a mistake in trying to defend his position against the world championship leader.
"I made a mistake because I used the wrong thing to get more KERS," Rosberg explained. "When I saw him coming, I decided to go for extra boost but I never got it.
"I thought I was using the right thing, but there was a delay in that one.
"If I did it with a button it would be immediate, but with a switch there is a delay, so I never got the extra KERS.
"I had a big drop off, which is why in the last metres he got a good jump on me. So, that was a mistake that I didn't know about."
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Hamilton (pictured in action in Texas) meanwhile was delighted with his 10th win of the year.
"What an incredible place this is to go racing," he said afterwards. "We have such great support here and I have to say a massive thanks to the fans who have been awesome all weekend. I’m really grateful to have had the opportunity to be out front here.
"It’s a very special feeling to have such an amazing car, an amazing team and to be on this incredible run. It’s been an unbelievable job from the team all year so a big thanks to everyone here at the track and at the factories back home.
"We managed to correct the problems from qualifying today, which was great, and I pushed as hard as I could. For the overtake, I just stayed as close as possible to Nico and waited for the moment to be just close enough to throw it up the inside.
"This is a good circuit to be able to follow another car but it’s still not easy. You have to judge the risk in these situations but I felt confident I could pull it off. Once I got past Nico, it was just about controlling the race.
"I’m very, very proud to now hold the record for the most Formula One wins for a British driver. I have to say, though, it’s all thanks to the team and the car we have this year that I’ve been able to reach that landmark so quickly. Ten wins in a season is just… well, wow!"
Behind the all-conquering Mercedes duo, Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo overcame a poor start — which saw him drop from from fifth on the grid to ninth — to beat both Williams drivers and complete the podium.
Williams drivers Felipe Massa and Valtteri Bottas finished fourth and fifth respectively, ahead of sixth-placed Fernando Alonso's Ferrari.
Four-times world champ Sebastian Vettel battled his way through to seventh, having started from the pitlane after exceeding the five-engines-per-season limit at this race.
And while the McLaren of Kevin Magnussen finished eighth, team-mate Jenson Button fell away badly in the closing laps eventually crossing the line in 12th, one place ahead of Kimi Raikkonen's Ferrari.
F1, US Grand Prix, Texas — Results:
1. Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1h40m04.785s;
2. Nico Rosberg Mercedes +4.314s;
3. Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull/Renault +25.560s;
4. Felipe Massa Williams/Mercedes +26.924s;
5. Valtteri Bottas Williams/Mercedes +30.992s;
6. Fernando Alonso Ferrari +1m35.231s
7. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull/Renault +1m35.734s;
8. Kevin Magnussen McLaren/Mercedes +1m40.682s;
9. Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso/Renault +1m43.863s;
10. Pastor Maldonado Lotus/Renault +1m47.870s;
11. Romain Grosjean Lotus/Renault +1 Lap;
12. Jenson Button McLaren/Mercedes +1 Lap;
13. Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari +1 Lap;
14. Esteban Gutierrez Sauber/Ferrari +1 Lap;
15. Daniil Kvyat Toro Rosso/Renault +1 Lap.
Retirements
Nico Hulkenberg, Force India/Mercedes, Power Unit;
Sergio Perez, Force India/Mercedes, Collision;
Adrian Sutil, Sauber/Ferrari, Collision
Championship Standings:
Drivers':
1. Lewis Hamilton 316
2. Nico Rosberg 292
3. Daniel Ricciardo 214
4. Valtteri Bottas 155
5. Sebastian Vettel 149
6. Fernando Alonso 149
7. Jenson Button 94
8. Felipe Massa 83
9. Nico Hulkenberg 76
10. Kevin Magnussen 53
11. Sergio Perez 47
12. Kimi Raikkonen 47
13. Jean-Eric Vergne 23
14. Romain Grosjean 8
15. Daniil Kvyat 8
16. Jules Bianchi 2
17. Pastor Maldonado 1
18. Adrian Sutil 0
19. Marcus Ericsson 0
20. Esteban Gutierrez 0
21. Max Chilton 0
22. Kamui Kobayashi 0.
Constructors':
1. Mercedes 608
2. Red Bull/Renault 363
3. Williams/Mercedes 238
4. Ferrari 196
5. McLaren/Mercedes 147
6. Force India/Mercedes 123
7. Toro Rosso/Renault 31
8. Lotus/Renault 9
9. Marussia/Ferrari 2
10. Sauber/Ferrari 0
11. Caterham/Renault 0
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Jim McGill