17.11.13

Back for only the second staging of the US Grand Prix at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin/Texas came the eleven F1 Teams for the penultimate race of 2013. The inaugural race here in 2012 was generally regarded as a great success and, of course, saw a Brit on the top podium step, with Lewis clutching his trophy suitably attired in his stetson. The Indianapolis debacle of 2005, when only a handful of cars made the grid has now hopefully faded from the memories of US F1 fans and we would be in for another good race here.
The end of season musical chairs reached fever pitch in the run up to the meeting. A big shock came with the announcement Perez would be bumped out of his McLaren seat next season in favour of Formula Renault 3.5 winner Kevin Magnussen.

With Kimi away for his back operation, one Lotus seat emptied for the final two races in 2013 and for that matter next season as well. It has been well deservedly filled, at least for these final two races, by Heikki Kovalainen, although I am sure some dreamt Michael Schumacher might have accepted the offer to drive alongside Grosjean. Not to be. Felipe, after big hugs with Luca, sets off for Williams. Messrs Sirotkin and Petrov look like the new line up at Sauber – I am sure unrelated to the sudden arrival of Russian backers outside their Hinwil HQ? Another Russian - Daniil Kvyat steps up from GP3 to gain experience of the Torro Rosso in place of Ricciardo. In fact talent vs. the cheque size in race suit pockets is beginning sadly to dominate driver line ups. Almost half the field of racers at the time of writing have no certainty about F1 futures next year, including Maldonado, Hulkenberg, Di Resta, Sutil, Perez, Gutierrez, van de Garde, Kovalainen, and Chilton.

Of those with certainty next year, Fernando came through a medical, OK ish, after suffering back problems whilst kerb bouncing to avoid contact with Vergne in Abu Dhabi, but still seemed to be suffering the after effects in Austin.

Fernando in fact made a good start on Friday topping the time sheets in FP1, a session delayed by fog and then cut short to 60 minutes. It was business as usual in FP2, however, with the Red Bulls back in control. Heikki also did a great job filling in for his fellow countryman at Lotus and recorded 5th fastest with both Saubers also well inside the top 10. Fernando and Felipe finished Friday practice, 10th and 13th, worryingly a full second off the pace. Jensen took a three place grid drop for overtaking under red flags when the organisers suddenly realised the medical helicopter was out of position because of the poor visibility and stopped proceedings.

So by the time qualifying came on Saturday no one would dare bet against further Red Bull domination. By the end of Q3 the two usual suspects had indeed locked out the front row. Along the way we were treated to strong performances from Grosjean and Hulkenberg occupying row 2, Hamilton (Mercedes having now realised Lewis has been running the last few races with a damaged chassis) and Alonso (still recovering from the back injury) taking row 3. Further down the grid Kovalainen with 8th quickest repaid Lotus’s faith in giving the Finn the chance to shine again in a competitive car. Bottas too was having a great meeting, out foxing his monied team mate Maldanado at every opportunity. The big surprises in qualifying were Rosberg, only managing Row 6 and JB on Row 8, the latter after the three place grid drop. Both complained about tyres not finding operating windows, nasty gusts of wind affecting aero, as the circuit is so close to an air base and very open - I even expected moans about the steepness of the hill up to Turn 1.

Sunday weather conditions for the Grand Prix were bright and sunny, after the poor visibility seen at the start of the meeting on Friday. It is tempting to fast forward through the race commentary as Seb again put on a driving master class, with the only surprise being the Webber Red Bull finishing just third. Grosjean drove a cracker of a race to split the Austrian team on the podium. The services of the safety car, the first ever seen at Austin, was required early in the race, after Maldonado made contact with Sutil sending Adrian into heavy frontal contact with the barriers. The German leapt from the stricken Force India OK, but its resting place meant it was not easily recoverable.

Vettel then made short work of re gaining his early advantage at the head of the field, after the safety car period ended, retaining this to the end. Webber had to make good a demotion to 4th by the exit of Turn 1 on the first lap, although it took him 13 laps to overhaul Lewis for 3rd, again held until the end. Fernando did manage to secure final advantage in his jousting with Hulkenberg’s Sauber to wrap up his race in 5th place, and in so doing sealed his second spot in the championship. Felipe only managed 13th. Bottas continued his eye watering form throughout the weekend taking 8th place and his first ever points result. In summary a less than gripping race, although it appeared well supported and well organised.

Second place in the Constructor’s Championship still remains up for grabs with our beloved Prancing Horses, Mercedes and Lotus all in with a shout. With a 15 point deficit to Mercedes, Fernando and Felipe must now up their game. How fitting it would be if Felipe can win his home grand prix next week in his final race at Ferrari after such a distinguished Maranello career, Fernando to finish second, and our team to go on to uphold honours in both championships, albeit immediately behind the Red Bulls. Let us hold on to that dream for the next seven days.

Click here for FIA lap chart.

Stefano Domenicali:“The race lacked any major dramatic moments and the outcome was decided on the first lap. Once again, the qualifying result conditioned our performance and on this occasion, the regret is even stronger. The gap to fifth place yesterday was minimal and if we’d started from the clean side of the track, maybe we would have witnessed a different race. Unfortunately, it didn’t turn out like that and now we must grit our teeth all the way to the end in Brazil”.

Fernando Alonso: “Finishing in the top five today is a very positive result when you consider how difficult this weekend has been and the fact I had to start from the dirty side of the track. In the first part of the race, we weren’t quick and we decided to save the tyres and then attack round the pit stop. We were more competitive on the Hards, we passed Perez and set off to get Hulkenberg, but even if our situation compared to Mercedes has improved, we were unable to beat them”.

Felipe Massa: “It’s been a really difficult weekend and I was struggling right from Friday, unable to get the tyres up to temperature or to run at a good pace. At the start, I didn’t make up any places and then for all the race I was stuck in traffic, on a track where overtaking is not that easy. It’s a real shame because we could have done better. Now we must keep concentrated for the final round of the season in Brazil, my final race with Ferrari on my home track: it’s bound to be a very emotional weekend because of that. I hope I can be more competitive there and even if our rivals are very quick, we will do our best right to the very end.”