Austin, Texas. The new home of Formula One in the USA after Indianapolis. The tyre debacle of 2005 will be forever etched into people’s minds and after four years without a Grand Prix, the permanent facility in the heart of the lone star state has provided Formula One with a very good home for the future.
With four races left to go as the F1 circus heads to the Circuit Of The Americas and now with the constructors’ title sealed after Kimi Raikkonen’s penalty in Russia for hitting Valtteri Bottas, all eyes will focus on Lewis Hamilton to see if he can snatch the title at his first opportunity this season.
What To Expect From The 2015 United States Grand Prix
Inevitable Title Talk
For the first time this season Lewis Hamilton has the opportunity to rap up the drivers’ title with races to spare. This will be for the first time in his career that he has had this opportunity as 2008 and 2014 were settled on the final day of the season.
The maths is very simple. Lewis needs to outscore Sebastian Vettel by nine points and his team-mate Nico Rosberg by two to secure his third world title in Austin. The odds are likely this could happen as Lewis’ record in the US is impeccable and if the podium trend is consistent with Hamilton winning, Rosberg second and Vettel third, it will all be over.
Overtaking
The Circuit Of The Americas is one of the best circuits on the calendar in terms of encouraging overtaking. The run up the hill to turn one and the back straight that heads into the final sector of the lap really push the drivers to race hard.
A wide track with 20 turns will always push the overtaking boundaries, especially with wide run-offs at every turn. Be sure to look for overtakes on every part of the circuit, not just the DRS zones.
Track Limits
Following my previous point, track limits is always a bug bear when it comes to open wide circuits such as the one here in Austin. Everywhere on the circuit is a run off of some description, and when it comes to qualifying and the race, one expects that the stewards will be hot on this as running wide on a hot lap or overtaking outside of the white lines will be quite easily done.
Red Bull Saga Set To Continue
With Red Bull and Toro Rosso without a confirmed power unit still for next season, time is swiftly ticking away for the energy drinks outfit that supports both teams. Bernie Ecclestone has tried to help out in some fashion, and it looks as if he has been mediating between Mercedes and Ferrari to try to come to an understanding. Bernie has even tried to encourage the return of a V8 engine back into the sport.
This story is still a long way from ending.
More Talk Over 2016 Calendar
A newly proposed 2016 race calendar for next season has caused some furore in the paddock due to the new European Grand Prix in Baku on the same day as the completion of the Le Mans 24 Hours. This will mean Force India’s Nico Hulkenberg cannot head to Le Mans to defend his race win from this season.
Many fans of WEC, Formula One and Hulkenberg himself are not happy about this and even WEC boss Gerad Neveu has said: “It’s a clear attack on us and on the race”. “(Bernie) Ecclestone never does anything nonchalantly. It is a shame because by doing this you take away the possibility of having F1 stars entering what still is the most important race in the world. “We could have had Hulkenberg and also other F1 drivers – motorsport fans are losing out.”
I don’t think we’ve seen the last of this debate, especially as the 2016 fixtures are still yet to be finalised.
We’re certainly in for a corker of a race this weekend, so get your Stetsons on and tune in to the United States Grand Prix.
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