US Grand Prix: Hamilton wins but made to wait for title
October 22, 2017
Lewis Hamilton won the US Grand Prix for the fifth time in six years, but Sebastian Vettel's second place finish denied Hamilton his fourth world title for now.
Vettel needed to finish fifth or higher to take the title race to Mexico City next weekend and, while he achieved that, Hamilton will have another chance to clinch the title next time around.
Vettel started just behind Hamilton on the front row of the grid at the Circuit of the Americas but the German got off to a sensational start, overtaking the Briton before the opening bend.
But the Ferrari never had to pace to build a lead over Hamilton’s Mercedes, and the championship leader overtook Vettel on lap six, and the German was never able to wrestle back control of the race.
Hamilton extends his world championship lead over Vettel to 66 points and looks likely to finish the job in the Mexican capital next weekend with Vettel needing to score 17 points more than the Briton to keep the championship open.
The victory was the 62nd of Hamilton's career and ninth of the season.
As it happened:
LEWIS HAMILTON WINS THE US GRAND PRIX! Vettel finishes second to deny the Briton the world title. For now.
Lap 56/56 Drama on the last lap as Verstappen overtakes Raikkonen to steal third place... but Verstappen is penalized five seconds for an infringement and Raikkonen is awarded third place!
Lap 54/56 Raikkonen lets Vettel pass to claim second and Verstappen takes Bottas to take fourth. It's all gone wrong for Bottas in the final five laps of the race.
Lap 53/56 Vettel overtakes Bottas! The German is on the podium!
Lap 52/56 Ericsson is handed a five-second penalty.
Lap 51/56 That collision between Ericsson and Magnussen is under investigation.
Lap 50/56 Fastest lap of 1m37.957s for Vettel as he closes in on Bottas. He's within two seconds of the Mercedes now.
Lap 49/56 "He turned in on me," says Ericsson.
Lap 48/56 Ericsson and Magnussen collide while being lapped!
Lap 47/56 Vettel and Verstappen are chipping away at Bottas for the final step on the podium.
Lap 45/56 "How are they so close?" Hamilton asks, after being informed of Raikkonen's laptime. He leads by 9.5 seconds but obviously not totally comfortable out there.
Lap 43/56 Top 10 as it stands: 1 Hamilton, 2 Raikkonen, 3 Bottas, 4 Vettel, 5 Verstappen, 6 Ocon, 7 Sainz, 8 Perez, 9 Kvyat, 10 Massa.
Lap 41/56 "Keep me up to date with what you need me to do - tires are still good," says Hamilton.
Lap 40/56 Crucial pit stop for Vettel, who emerges just ahead of Verstappen. Could work well for Ferrari if Vettel has the pace to hold off the Red Bull.
Lap 38/56 Hamilton leads by 6.9 seconds now and that's easily the biggest gap between any of the cars in the top five.
Lap 36/56 "Try to hang in there, Bottas is fighting with Kimi," Vettel is told.
Lap 34/56 Raikkonen is attacking Bottas for third and the Ferrari is in DRS range.
Lap 32/56 Massa has overtaken Magnussen for 11th place.
Lap 30/56 Bottas is two seconds behind Vettel, and Raikkonen is just another 1.4 seconds back.
Lap 28/56 Hamilton's lead over Vettel is up to 4.5 seconds, while in fifth Verstappen is now just 17.6 seconds down now. All eyes on the Red Bull!
Lap 27/56 Fastest lap for Verstappen! 1m38.523, more than two seconds quicker than Hamilton and Vettel.
Lap 25/56 Verstappen has rejoined from the pits in fifth, and he's flying. Just 20 seconds off the lead.
Lap 23/56 Vettel is 2 seconds behind Hamilton again. The Ferrari just can't get close enough to the Mercedes today.
Lap 22/56 Raikkonen has pitted so Verstappen leads from Hamilton. Raikkonen is fifth, behind Bottas.
Lap 21/56 Hamilton pits and then rejoins on softs, with Vettel right behind!
Lap 20/56 Fastest lap of 1m39.702 for Vettel, which is about 1.5 seconds quicker than Hamilton is managing. The new tires are doing the trick for Vettel.
Lap 19/56 Vettel pits. He's the first of the current leaders to do so.
Lap 18/56 "Engine's gone," says Ricciardo. He's out!
Lap 17/56 Just a reminder that Hamilton will only win the title if he wins and Vettel finishes sixth or lower. in other words, Vettel needs to finish fifth or higher to keep the title race alive.
Lap 16/56 Bottas is within three seconds of Vettel now. The German is struggling to keep pace out there.
Lap 15/56 Vettel was more than one second slower than Hamilton last time around, and he's complaining of "tire blistering".
Lap 14/56 Ricciardo makes a stop to change onto the super-soft tires. I won't repeat what he told his team over the radio, but let's just say he wasn't happy with the tires he was on, which had taken a battering after that tussle with Bottas.
Lap 13/56 Verstappen darts beyond Ocon to take sixth at the end of the back straight.
Lap 12/56 Hamilton is already 1.9 seconds clear of Vettel.
Lap 11/56 This incident between Bottas and Ricciardo is under investigation:
Lap 9/56 The top 10 as it stands: 1 Hamilton, 2 Vettel, 3 Bottas, 4 Ricciardo, 5 Raikkonen, 6 Ocon, 7 Verstappen, 8 Alonso, 9 Sainz, 10 Massa.
Lap 7/56 Hamilton is in DRS range of Vettel and takes the German. Hamilton has already raced into a 1.2 second lead. Now we'll see what Vettel and Ferrari are made of.
Lap 6/56 Hamilton takes the lead!
Lap 5/56 Fastest lap for Hamilton at 1m40.531. He's 0.9 seconds behind Vettel now.
Lap 4/56 Bottas and Ricciardo going at it hammer and tong! The Red Bull locks up, goes wide at Turn 1, and Bottas hits back to hang onto third
Lap 3/56 Vettel leads by 0.8 seconds. There is a bit of a gap to the rest, with Bottas and Ricciardo scrapping for third.
Lap 2/56 It's a fantastic start by Vettel! He overtakes Hamilton on the opening bend and the German leads from the championship leader!
Lap 1/56 It's GO GO GO in Austin!
20:55 The warm-up lap is underway...
20:50 So what does Lewis Hamilton have to do to win the title today? Here's our article on the possible permutations for the Mercedes driver.
20:45 Michael Buffer has introduced each of the leading drivers and the national anthems are done. And, in case you were wondering, Lewis Hamilton did not take a knee.
20:30 Welcome to live coverage of the US Grand Prix from Austin, Texas. Can Lewis Hamilton win another world title? We're about to find out...