By Jessica Borrell
- Circuit of the Americas preview
- Hamilton only needs point to win championship
- Unique track supplies lots of action
AUSTIN, Texas, USA – Lewis Hamilton only needs to have a nine point advantage over Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel and two points over his teammate Nico Rosberg to win his third driver’s championship title.
Who said three’s a crowd?
After a year of challenges, mechanical errors and mistakes by the team last year, this year has been a year of complete domination for the Brit. Hamilton himself has not yet taken for granted that the Championship will be his, and as reported by the BBC, that his focus is still to win.
“I’ve never felt it’s ever been done and dusted. There are still a lot of points available. I’m going to take my time and, at the next race, work as hard as ever. The goal is to win a third title, until I achieve that there is no other goal. I feel incredibly fortunate to have this car.
“I love going to Austin and the track has been amazing for me since the first race. I am looking forward to it, it is a track you can race on and get close to people.”
Only on two occasions has his teammate looked sharper over a race weekend, and on the anomaly where Mercedes haven’t won, it hasn’t been down to driver error. After an anxious wait for Kimi Raikonnen’s penalty to be announced, Mercedes were crowned Constructer’s Champions, albeit with a subdued atmosphere.
This weekend is the perfect place to be celebrating a double constructers and drivers’ championship (with a bit more work left to do). The paddock loves coming to this vibrant, racing-mad hotspot and it’s no wonder when the race has provided such entertainment.
Austin’s got powers
The track is a combination of technical corners and blind braking which the likes of Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo loves. He told the Formula 1 website he loves the atmosphere when the F1 circus hits the town.
“For a modern-day circuit with lots of runoff, they’ve done the best job possible. They’ve created a track that’s safe but managed to ensure it is still fun. It’s probably the best overtaking circuit on the calendar.”
“I love live music and I love bars and I particularly love live music in bars – and as that’s what Austin’s all about, it’s the sort of culture I can really appreciate. I’ll also enjoy some beef. Definitely the city to visit if you like ribs or brisket. Amazing stuff.”
The unrivalled turn one has played host to many eye watering overtakes as seen by Ricciardo showing Fernando Alonso how to win “who will break latest?” game. The elevation is something in itself to be mastered when you have no clue how fast the corner will come at you. Luckily for drivers there is a wide run off area but it will guarantee to lose you a place or two. The two DRS sections are smartly positioned to get you in the position to overtake in section two whilst giving either giving you the opporunity two retake the place back or to shut the door on your component.
The United States Grand Prix starts at 8pm and is live on Sky Sports F1 with highlights on the BBC.
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