Lewis Hamilton Secures 50th Formula 1 Win in Texas

It was Lewis Hamilton who was once again victorious at the United States Grand Prix, marking his fiftieth win in Formula 1 and fourth win around the Circuit of the Americas. Hamilton’s team mate, Nico Rosberg finished in second place while Daniel Ricciardo secured third place for Red Bull Racing.

Lewis Hamilton Secures 50th Formula 1 Win in Texas

It was Lewis Hamilton who claimed his seventh win of 2016 today at the US Grand Prix, beating his Mercedes team mate, Nico Rosberg, to the top step of the podium while Daniel Ricciardo finished in third. At the race start, Hamilton held on to first place after starting from pole position going into turn 1, while Rosberg slipped down to third after being overtaken by Ricciardo. In what was a strategy-fueled race, Mercedes managed to consolidate another one-two finish for the team by pitting both of their drivers during a Virtual Safety Car period caused by the retirement of Max Verstappen, giving the team a free pit stop. Despite charging hard in the final few laps, Ricciardo was unable to close in on Rosberg to claim second place.

It was Sebastian Vettel who finished in fourth place for Ferrari while Fernando Alonso finished in fifth place for McLaren, securing ten points. Alonso started in twelfth place and charged through the field to take fifth, battling from seventh to his finishing position in the final few laps, overtaking Felipe Massa and Carlos Sainz in the process.

Carlos Sainz Jr finished in sixth place for Toro Rosso, beating his team mate, Daniil Kvyat who finished in twelfth place. Felipe Massa finished in seventh place while Sergio Perez finished in eighth for Force India, meaning that the gap between Williams and Force India in the Constructors’ Standings is only eight points with three races to go of the 2016 Formula 1 Season.

Jenson Button finished in ninth place for McLaren after starting in nineteenth place and Romain Grosjean rounded out the points paying positions in tenth place, securing 1 point in what was his team’s home race.

Narrowly missing out on a points finish for Renault was Kevin Magnussen, who finished in eleventh place. Magnussen’s team mate, Jolyon Palmer finished in thirteenth. With these two team mates battling each other for the final place at Renault for 2017, Magnussen should be glad to have beaten his team mate. However, with three races still to go, Palmer will be looking to finish higher than his team mate in the remaining races in order to make himself worthy of holding a place in Formula 1 in 2017.

The US Grand Prix marked four retirements. Nico Hulkenberg was the first retiree from the race after being involved in a first corner accident with Valtteri Bottas. The accident left Hulkenberg with terminal suspension damage and Bottas with a puncture, meaning that Bottas finished in sixteenth place for Williams. Also making an early exit from the US Grand Prix for Haas F1 was Esteban Gutierrez, who retired with brake issues. Retiring for the first time since the Monaco Grand Prix for Red Bull Racing was Max Verstappen, who experienced an engine issue in the second half of the race, forcing the Dutchman to stop out on track, bringing out a Virtual Safety Car. Retiring for Ferrari was Kimi Raikkonen, with the 2007 World Champion stopping at the end of the pit exit after what was his final pit stop of the race. Raikkonen was told to stop the car by Ferrari, with the car being unsafely released from the pit lane, meaning that one of the tyres was most likely not securely fitted to the car.

Through this result, Lewis Hamilton has closed in on Nico Rosberg in the drivers championship by seven points, meaning that the reigning champion is 26 points behind is team mate with three races to go and a maximum of 75 points on offer.

For driver of the day, there is one obvious winner and that is Fernando Alonso for McLaren. Alonso started the race in twelfth place after having a disappointing qualifying session on Saturday, however, managed to battle his way through the field to take fifth place from Carlos Sainz Jr in the final few laps of the race, marking his joint highest finish of 2016.

Results from the US GP:

1. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, 25 points
2. Nico Rosberg, Mercedes, 18 points
3. Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull Racing, 15 points
4. Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari, 12 points
5. Fernando Alonso, McLaren, 10 points
6. Carlos Sainz Jr, Toro Rosso, 8 points
7. Felipe Massa, Williams, 6 points
8. Sergio Perez, Force India, 4 points
9. Jenson Button, McLaren, 2 points
10. Romain Grosjean, Haas F1, 1 point
11. Kevin Magnussen, Renault, 0 points
12. Daniil Kvyat, Toro Rosso, 0 points
13. Jolyon Palmer, Renault, 0 points
14. Marcus Ericsson, Sauber, 0 points
15. Felipe Nasr, Sauber, 0 points
16. Valtteri Bottas, Williams, 0 points
17. Pascal Wehrlein, Manor, 0 points
18. Esteban Ocon, Manor, 0 points
19. Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari, Ret
20. Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing, Ret
21. Esteban Gutierrez, Haas F1, Ret
22. Nico Hulkenberg, Force India, Ret

Drivers Standings after 18 races:

1. Nico Rosberg, Mercedes, 331 points
2. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, 305 points
3. Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull Racing, 227 points
4. Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari, 177 points
5. Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari, 170 points
6. Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing, 165 points
7. Sergio Perez, Force India, 84 points
8. Valtteri Bottas, Williams, 81 points
9. Nico Hulkenberg, Force India, 54 points
10. Fernando Alonso, McLaren, 52 points
11. Felipe Massa, Williams, 49 points
12. Carlos Sainz Jr, Toro Rosso, 38 points
13. Romain Grosjean, Haas F1, 29 points
14. Daniil Kvyat, Toro Rosso, 25 points
15. Jenson Button, McLaren, 21 points
16. Kevin Magnussen, Renault, 7 points
17. Jolyon Palmer, Renault, 1 point
18. Pascal Wehrlein, Manor, 1 point
19. Stoffel Vandoorne, McLaren, 1 point
20. Esteban Gutierrez, Haas F1, 0 points
21. Marcus Ericsson, Sauber, 0 points
22. Felipe Nasr, Sauber, 0 points
23. Rio Haryanto, Manor, 0 points
24. Esteban Ocon, Manor, 0 points

Constructors Standings after 18 races:

1. Mercedes, 636 points
2. Red Bull Racing, 400 points
3. Ferrari, 347 points
4. Force India, 138 points
5. Williams, 130 points
6. McLaren, 74 points
7. Toro Rosso, 55 points
8. Haas F1, 29 points
9. Renault, 8 points
10. Manor, 1 point
11. Sauber, 0 points

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