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Thursday 28 November 2013

US Grand Prix Full Report

Well, what can I say, rather late than never,

Here follows a complete report of the US grand prix that took place over the weekend of the 15th - 17th of November.

First Practice Results - Friday 15th November


Pos. DriverTeamTimeLaps
1.  F. AlonsoFerrari01:38.34316
2.  J. ButtonMcLaren01:38.37125
3.  V. BottasWilliams01:38.38817
4.  E. GutiérrezSauber01:38.53218
5.  N. RosbergMercedes01:38.65721
6.  L. HamiltonMercedes01:38.97921
7.  F. MassaFerrari01:39.00517
8.  M. WebberRed Bull01:39.08317
9.  N. HulkenbergSauber01:39.15817
10.  P. MaldonadoWilliams01:39.20015
11.  R. GrosjeanLotus01:39.23813
12.  S. PerezMcLaren01:39.25617
13.  H. KovalainenLotus01:39.48718
14.  A. SutilForce India01:39.69915
15.  P. di RestaForce India01:39.83615
16.  D. RicciardoToro Rosso01:39.86319
17.  D. KvyatToro Rosso01:40.06520
18.  S. VettelRed Bull01:40.66221
19.  A. RossiCaterham01:41.39921
20.  M. ChiltonMarussia01:41.60519
21.  C. PicCaterham01:42.05419
22.  R. GonzalezMarussia01:43.71617


Fernando Alonso, Ferrari, 2013 American Formula 1 Grand Prix, Formula 1

Second Practice Results - Friday 15th November

Pos. DriverTeamTimeLaps
1.  S. VettelRed Bull01:37.30535
2.  M. WebberRed Bull01:37.42037
3.  N. RosbergMercedes01:37.78538
4.  L. HamiltonMercedes01:37.95838
5.  H. KovalainenLotus01:38.07341
6.  E. GutiérrezSauber01:38.22940
7.  N. HulkenbergSauber01:38.25440
8.  R. GrosjeanLotus01:38.25533
9.  J. ButtonMcLaren01:38.26934
10.  F. AlonsoFerrari01:38.46133
11.  A. SutilForce India01:38.71931
12.  F. MassaFerrari01:38.93837
13.  S. PerezMcLaren01:38.94131
14.  D. RicciardoToro Rosso01:39.24628
15.  P. di RestaForce India01:39.41034
16.  V. BottasWilliams01:39.51237
17.  J. VergneToro Rosso01:39.57936
18.  P. MaldonadoWilliams01:39.78433
19.  C. PicCaterham01:40.37639
20.  G. van der GardeCaterham01:40.56335
21.  M. ChiltonMarussia01:46.22631
22.  J. BianchiMarussia01:47.00920

Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull, 2013 American Formula 1 Grand Prix, Formula 1

Third Practice Results - Saturday 16th November

Yes, the Red Bulls of Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber were fastest in the final practice session for the 2013 Formula 1 United States Grand Prix, with the world champion two-tenths of a second ahead of the Australian. But a super lap from Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton right at the end of the hour-long run gave some hope that they might face some opposition this weekend.


Vettel had dropped to fourth after setting the pace on Pirelli’s hard tyres, as others switched to the mediums, but on the white-banded tyres he redefined the ante with a lap of 1m 36.733s as Webber worked down to 1m 36.936s. Hamilton, who appeared to have struggled as Mercedes worked on race pace, then banged in 1m 37.064s literally as the flag fell, to jump up to third.

Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull, 2013 American Formula 1 Grand Prix, Formula 1

Pos. DriverTeamTimeLaps
1.  S. VettelRed Bull01:36.73314
2.  M. WebberRed Bull01:36.93620
3.  L. HamiltonMercedes01:37.06422
4.  N. HulkenbergSauber01:37.27220
5.  R. GrosjeanLotus01:37.34520
6.  J. ButtonMcLaren01:37.53418
7.  N. RosbergMercedes01:37.57824
8.  S. PerezMcLaren01:37.58319
9.  V. BottasWilliams01:37.74717
10.  A. SutilForce India01:37.74821
11.  F. AlonsoFerrari01:37.76316
12.  E. GutiérrezSauber01:37.77418
13.  H. KovalainenLotus01:37.87921
14.  P. MaldonadoWilliams01:38.02216
15.  D. RicciardoToro Rosso01:38.10923
16.  P. di RestaForce India01:38.27522
17.  F. MassaFerrari01:38.40817
18.  J. VergneToro Rosso01:38.63621
19.  C. PicCaterham01:39.57819
20.  G. van der GardeCaterham01:40.05621
21.  J. BianchiMarussia01:40.82521
22.  M. ChiltonMarussia01:41.29318

Qualifying Results - Saturday 16th November

Sebastian Vettel left it to the last moment to steal pole position away from Red Bull team mate Mark Webber in qualifying for the 2013 Formula 1 United States Grand Prix in Austin on Saturday afternoon.

Mark Webber, Sebastian Vettel, Romain Grosjean, Lotus Renault, Red Bull, 2013 American Formula 1 Grand Prix, Formula 1

Webber looked to have sealed P1 on his last run, but moments later Vettel completed a perfect final sector to grab the top spot by just over a tenth of a second. 

Q1 was a paradox for Williams, as Valtteri Bottas slipped in the fastest time of 1m 37.821s to pip Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton and Sauber’s Esteban Gutierrez, but team mate Pastor Maldonado failed to get through. The Venezuelan got out of shape after he appeared to be baulked on one of his quick laps by Gutierrez, an incident the stewards have chosen to investigate.

Valtteri Bottas, Williams, 2013 American Formula 1 Grand Prix, Formula 1

Adrian Sutil was the first man not to make it out of Q1 as he struggled with his Force India and then stopped it with apparent technical problems on the exit of Turn 1 shortly after an attempt at a quick lap ended in a disappointing 1m 39.250s. Maldonado managed 1m 39.351s, while Giedo van der Garde led a tight trio comprising his Caterham on 1m 40.491s, Jules Bianchi’s Marussia on 1m 40.528s and team mate Charles Pic on 1m 40.596s. Max Chilton brought up the rear in the second Marussia on 1m 41.401s and is also facing a stewards' investigation for a potential block on Maldonado.

Nico Rosberg had high hopes for Mercedes’ chances this weekend, but by setting only the 14th fastest time in Q2 he was one of the six who failed to make it into Q3 as Vettel set the pace from Webber, Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso and Bottas. Daniel Ricciardo’s 1m 38.131s for Toro Rosso couldn't dislodge the 10th fastest man, Lotus’s Heikki Kovalainen, and the Australian was followed by Force India’s Paul di Resta on 1m 38.139s, McLaren’s Jenson Button on 1m 38.217s, Rosberg on 1m 38.364s, Ferrari’s Felipe Massa on 1m 38.592s and Toro Rosso’s Jean-Eric Vergne on 1m 38.696s.

Nico Rosberg, Mercedes Grand Prix, 2013 American Formula 1 Grand Prix, Formula 1

And so to Q3 where, for a short while, it seemed that Webber might take the pole with his second run lap of 1m 36.441s, but Vettel came good right when it mattered with 1m 36.338s and punched the air in delight. Lotus’s Romain Grosjean also came good with 1m 37.155s for third as Nico Hulkenberg again starred for Sauber with 1m 37.296s and fourth place. 

Hamilton should have been closer to the Red Bulls but got sector one wrong on his first run and then got down to only 1m 37.345s for his second. That was sufficient to pip Alonso, however, as the Ferrari driver lapped in 1m 37.376s. McLaren’s Sergio Perez did well for seventh on 1m 37.452s, as did Kovalainen on his return to active F1 duty. He took eighth in the second Lotus on 1m 37.715s.

Sergio Perez, McLaren, 2013 American Formula 1 Grand Prix, Formula 1

Williams’ promise wasn’t quite realised, but Bottas’s 1m 37.836s was more than respectable for ninth, as Gutierrez in the second Sauber completed the top ten with 1m 38.034s. Whether the Mexican keeps that place after the stewards’ enquiry remains to be seen.


Button has a three-place grid penalty for passing another car under red flags in FP1 and Pic loses five places after a gearbox change on Saturday morning, so the grid currently lines up thus: Vettel, Webber; Grosjean, Hulkenberg; Hamilton, Alonso; Perez, Kovalainen; Bottas, Gutierrez; Ricciardo, di Resta; Rosberg, Massa; Vergne, Button; Sutil, Maldonado; Van der Garde, Bianchi; Chilton, Pic.

Pos. DriverTeamTimeLaps
1.  S. VettelRed Bull01:36.33812
2.  M. WebberRed Bull01:36.44114
3.  R. GrosjeanLotus01:37.15517
4.  N. HulkenbergSauber01:37.29620
5.  L. HamiltonMercedes01:37.34520
6.  F. AlonsoFerrari01:37.37619
7.  S. PerezMcLaren01:37.45221
8.  H. KovalainenLotus01:37.71521
9.  V. BottasWilliams01:37.83624
10.  E. GutiérrezSauber01:38.03420
11.  D. RicciardoToro Rosso01:38.13118
12.  P. di RestaForce India01:38.13918
13.  J. ButtonMcLaren01:38.21716
14.  N. RosbergMercedes01:38.36419
15.  F. MassaFerrari01:38.59217
16.  J. VergneToro Rosso01:38.69615
17.  A. SutilForce India01:39.25010
18.  P. MaldonadoWilliams01:39.35111
19.  G. van der GardeCaterham01:40.49110
20.  J. BianchiMarussia01:40.52811
21.  C. PicCaterham01:40.59610
22.  M. ChiltonMarussia01:41.40110

Sunday Race Results - 17th November 2013

Starting Grid:



Race Report:

Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel was in commanding form in the United States on Sunday, racing to a record-breaking eighth consecutive victory.

Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull, 2013 American Formula 1 Grand Prix, Formula 1

The German started from pole, led into the first corner, and only briefly relinquished the lead when he made his sole pit stop. Towards the end he was advised that his hard-compound Pirelli tyres were not bulletproof and that he needed to look after them, but after a charge from Lotus’s Romain Grosjean, himself under tremendous pressure from the other Red Bull of Mark Webber, Vettel produced his trademark late fastest lap to show who was really in control.

Mark Webber, Sebastian Vettel, Romain Grosjean, 2013 American Formula 1 Grand Prix, Formula 1

At the end the Lotus driver was 6.2s adrift as he added a sixth podium finish to his collection this season. Close behind him, Webber had lost out not only to Grosjean but also to Lewis Hamilton at the start, thanks to the problem of getting away on the dirty side of the grid, and he could not begin his challenge for second until he’d disposed of the Mercedes. That happened on the 13th lap, as Hamilton was forced to go into degradation limitation mode as his tyres began to go away from him. The Englishman stayed out until the 25th lap, but by then Webber was long gone and so was all chance of a podium finish.

Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull, 2013 American Formula 1 Grand Prix, Formula 1

Try as he might Webber couldn’t muster the momentum to displace Grosjean, who upheld Lotus honour perfectly in Kimi Raikkonen’s absence.

Hamilton held on to take fourth, having this time been able to neutralise Fernando Alonso’s late-race challenge thanks to some careful tyre preservation. The Spaniard had battled up past Nico Hulkenberg’s Sauber and at one stage seemed set to pounce on Hamilton as he had done in Abu Dhabi, but the Mercedes driver maintained a 1.3s gap initially and then pulled away as the Ferrari’s tyres lost their edge. Indeed, it seemed for a moment as if Hulkenberg might be able to launch a counter-attack on Alonso, but he had to be content with a solid sixth place finish.

Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull, 2013 American Formula 1 Grand Prix, Formula 1

Behind them, Sergio Perez drove a strong race to seventh for McLaren, as Valtteri Bottas delighted Williams with a competitive run to score his first world championship points with eighth, containing a challenge from Mercedes’ Nico Rosberg who had to fight his way up from his lowly 14th place on the grid.

 Sergio Perez, McLaren, 2013 American Formula 1 Grand Prix, Formula 1

The final point fell to McLaren’s Jenson Button, who recovered from a clash with Ferrari’s Felipe Massa on the opening lap and spent much of his race mired in the midfield fighting the Brazilian, Force India’s Paul di Resta and Toro Rosso’s Daniel Ricciardo. Massa and Di Resta, like Lotus stand-in Heikki Kovalainen who also initially ran in the group, all fell back after making two pits stops to the leading runners’ one, and Button was eventually able to battle past Ricciardo just before the end.

The Australian finished just ahead of his Toro Rosso team mate Jean-Eric Vergne, who was the only driver who opted to start on the harder tyre. The Frenchman was involved in a last-lap clash with Esteban Gutierrez, with whom he had spent much of the race dicing; as the Mexican dived past him for 12th Vergne inadvertently launched the Sauber driver into a spin. The stewards announced immediately that they would look at the matter and they subsequently added 20 seconds to Vergne's race time, dropping him to 16th place. 

Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes Grand Prix, 2013 American Formula 1 Grand Prix, Formula 1

Massa thus took 12th with Gutierrez recovering for 13th ahead of Kovalainen and Di Resta, and Williams’ Pastor Maldonado who had been involved in a first-lap collision with Adrian Sutil which had pitched the Force India driver into a barrier and brought out the safety car until the fifth lap. Later Maldonado lost further ground when his front wing needed replacing.

Adrian Sutil, Force India F1, 2013 American Formula 1 Grand Prix, Formula 1

Adrian Sutil, Force India F1, 2013 American Formula 1 Grand Prix, Formula 1

Jules Bianchi finished 18th for Marussia after a superb race-long battle with Giedo van der Garde’s Caterham which ended with the green and yellow car less than two seconds behind its red and black rival. Charles Pic in the second Caterham was with them for a while before dropping back, as Marussia’s Max Chilton brought up the rear.


The victory puts Vettel on course to match Alberto Ascari’s record of nine straight wins, over the 1952 and ’53 seasons (discounting the Indy 500), and leaves him with 372 points to Alonso’s 227. Hamilton moves back ahead of Raikkonen for third with 187 to 183, with Webber closing in on 181. In the constructors’ stakes Red Bull have 553, while Mercedes retained their second place with 348 to Ferrari’s 333 and Lotus’s 315.

Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull, 2013 American Formula 1 Grand Prix, Formula 1

Pos. DriverTeamTime
1.  S. VettelRed Bull1:39:17.148
2.  R. GrosjeanLotus+6.284
3.  M. WebberRed Bull+8.396+2.112
4.  L. HamiltonMercedes+27.358+18.962
5.  F. AlonsoFerrari+29.592+2.234
6.  N. HulkenbergSauber+30.400+0.808
7.  S. PerezMcLaren+46.692+16.292
8.  V. BottasWilliams+54.509+7.817
9.  N. RosbergMercedes+59.141+4.632
10.  J. ButtonMcLaren+1:17.278+18.137
11.  D. RicciardoToro Rosso+1:21.004+3.726
12.  F. MassaFerrari+1:26.914+5.910
13.  E. GutiérrezSauber+1:31.707+4.793
14.  H. KovalainenLotus+1:35.063+3.356
15.  P. di RestaForce India+1:36.853+1.790
16.  J. VergneToro Rosso+1:44.574+7.721
17.  P. MaldonadoWilliams+1 Lap
18.  J. BianchiMarussia+1 Lap
19.  G. van der GardeCaterham+1 Lap
20.  C. PicCaterham+1 Lap
21.  M. ChiltonMarussia+2 Laps
Did not finish
22.  A. SutilForce India+56 Laps


Brazilian GP report to follow momentarily








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