Mercedes claimed its ninth 1-2 result of the season as an exceptional Valtteri Bottas triumphed in a race that sealed a sixth world title for Lewis Hamilton. Motorsport Week presents its talking points and analysis from the United States Grand Prix.
Going down fighting
Valtteri Bottas has sometimes been given flak for his flakiness when it matters – or in battle – but at the United States Grand Prix he was exceptional. Knowing that only victory could prolong his title hopes through to Brazil he delivered a masterclass in qualifying and the race, recovering from a tricky Friday that threatened to derail his weekend. “We actually found quite a few things in the car that weren’t quite right,” he revealed. “There was a little bit with the set-up, I think I started to go a little bit in the wrong direction on tyre pressures and temperatures. We found some reasons for that quite big straight-line speed difference, which made quiet an impact on the pace in S2, so when I started in FP3 it was like a different car.” Bottas executed a flawless start and ran his two-stop strategy to near-perfection, with his only blemish being his failed first attempt at overhauling team-mate Lewis Hamilton, but even that is pushing the boundaries to find a negative. Bottas did not lose the title on Sunday for his hopes were dented with his dire Germany/Hungary results and being on the wrong side of the margin elsewhere. But this has been comfortably his finest campaign in Formula 1 and there is no shame in being runner-up to an all-time great in Hamilton. “Winning it was the only thing I could do to try and maintain the title hopes,” he said. “Obviously I did my part, which feels good, but Lewis was strong this weekend, as he always is, so he got some solid points and got the championship. It’s my best season in Formula 1 so far, so that’s good, and looking at other positives, I’ve made huge gains in many areas, in terms of race pace and everything.”
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Six
When Lewis Hamilton eventually retires, with who knows how many titles, wins and poles to his name, there will be a realisation that we – the sport, the media, spectators – were fortunate to witness a master at work. The greats do not just deliver, they accomplish extraordinary achievements week in, week out, demand perfection from those around them, while in the process raising the stature of said individuals. Hamilton is relentless on- and off-track, and a sign of his consistency and craving for perfection was that he was anguished at qualifying as low as…fifth. It was his worst one-lap performance in two years. He still aimed for the victory and did all he could, out-gunned on the day by the exemplary Bottas. Off-track Hamilton has reached corners of the world that no Formula 1 driver has ever managed, courtesy of his extracurricular affiliations and the fanbase he has amassed. How many can he go on and reach? Seven? Eight? Nine? You would be a fool to suggest he has yet reached his peak. “I remember watching this sport when I was younger, waking up, come downstairs, my step mum, Linda, she would make me a bacon sandwich and me and my dad would sit there together and watch the Grands Prix,” said Hamilton. “It’s odd to watch it and see someone in the TV set and now to be the person that’s in the TV set, you know, and be doing something like the great that I saw in Ayrton and the great that I saw in Michael. It’s beyond surreal to think that this journey, my life journey has brought me to this point in winning a sixth title.” Would he now sit back and take in his achievement? Hardly. He was already out training in New York early on Monday morning. “In my mind, I’m just too competitive, so I’m thinking OK, we’ve got two more races to go, how am I going to do a better job, how am I going to improve in qualifying,” he said. “There’s two more qualifyings to try and get pole, how am I going to see if I can potentially pull out a lap like I did in Singapore last year. How am I going to work it that I can be at the front of both of those. I’m always just looking to improve and I really love being in this sport. I’m so grateful to this sport for giving me a life and giving my life purpose.” Is Hamilton the greatest of all time? It is a subjective question that provokes widespread arguments. But with each passing year he is staking his claim to the honour in increasingly convincing fashion.
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What went wrong for Ferrari?
Ferrari’s challenge wilted at the Circuit of the Americas as Charles Leclerc finished 52 seconds behind Bottas – and was a non-factor all race – while Sebastian Vettel slumped from second to seventh prior to his spectacular suspension failure. Some – for that read Max Verstappen – were quick to point fingers, believing Ferrari’s drop-in performance was due to the technical directive issued by the FIA, clarifying a point raised by Honda regarding fuel flow metre readings and the potential misuse via electrical interference. Mercedes’ data trace showed that Ferrari did not have as much straight-line speed compared to past events but did not link it to the directive. Ferrari categorically and robustly rejected the allegations that were thrown in its face. Therefore what went wrong? In qualifying Ferrari was still there or thereabouts. Vettel was a mere 0.012s behind Bottas and conceded that a cautious final sector, having wanted to get a lap on the board, cost him pole position, as the anticipated improvements on the second run never materialised. Leclerc, meanwhile, has been Ferrari’s greater prospect over a single lap in 2019 but he was thwarted by an oil leak that robbed him of critical running in FP3. Leclerc reverted to Ferrari’s Spec 2, meaning he was slightly down on power, but still clocked a lap that put him just 0.108s away from pole position. In race trim the lack of pace left Ferrari’s senior figures bewildered, with Vettel commenting that they were “significantly slower” while Leclerc pointed to a lack of – and inconsistent levels of – overall grip. Only the next two events will determine whether Ferrari simply blundered into an incorrect and costly set-up direction or if there is something deeper impacting its prospects.
Four-tenths
After 56 laps of racing and divergent strategies just 0.398s decided the ‘winner’ of Formula 1’s midfield battle, as the one-stopping Daniel Ricciardo fended off two-stopper and meme lord Lando Norris. The McLaren young gun profited from Vettel’s malaise to sneak past Ricciardo early on but the Renault driver fought back, in effect forcing McLaren to two-stop their protégé in a bid to try something different. It almost worked. Norris carved his way through the lower reaches of the top 10 and was just a few corners away from picking off Ricciardo. It again highlighted the minor details upon which the midfield battle is being decided. Carlos Sainz Jr. would surely have been in that mix but lost out at the start, got stuck behind a Toro Rosso, and then had to preserve his tyres via an aggressive one-stop strategy.
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Stroll costing Racing Point
It may sound facetious to suggest that a member of the Stroll family is costing Racing Point money – given the ownership – but that is what has happened since the summer break. The RP19 is a far more formidable force since the three-part upgrade was introduced but while Sergio Perez has been largely superb, Lance Stroll has had a spate of underwhelming performances. There are mitigating circumstances: Perez is vastly more experienced, Stroll is still in year one with a team – and the assimilation process cannot be overlooked – while at COTA he suffered a scruffy first lap and sustained some damage. But since the summer break Perez has out-scored Stroll by a mammoth 31 points to three. It is quite the thumping. Racing Point could be in the mix with Renault – or even ahead – but instead it is just a solitary point clear of Toro Rosso.
Home horrors
Kevin Magnussen provided some perspective for Haas on Thursday – and he was right to do so. Magnussen reiterated how incredible an achievement it was for a small team to finish fifth overall in just its third year of competition, as Haas did in 2018. This season has been a desperately disappointing reality check, and hopefully the tough lessons learned through 2019 will be applied for a stronger 2020. Haas put a brave face on the situation but entered its home round in full expectation of a struggle. It duly materialised. Romain Grosjean crashed in FP2 and was perplexed as to why, with the data showing a sudden loss of downforce from the rear, while in reverting to an old-spec rear wing he was giving away 15kph on the straights. “I told the engineers ‘look I’ll make you a statue if you can understand what happened’” said Grosjean. “If I try and go flat out in Turn 4 and I crashed it, fair enough, I tried, shit happens, that’s what I’m paid: to go to the limit. When I do the same, or less than the same [as the previous lap], and you spin… it’s hard to understand.” The race was little better as a Medium/Soft tyre strategy failed to pay off, accentuated by the lack of downforce and absence of top speed available from the VF-19. Magnussen fared slightly better early on but the usual race woes kicked in and he plummeted down the order like the proverbial stone. A brake failure three laps from home truncated Magnussen’s misery. The sight of the stranded VF-19 alone in the vast sea of gravel, albeit not far away from the Stars ‘n’ Stripes painted run-off, aptly symbolised Haas’ season.
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Tor-oh no
Toro Rosso occupied fifth place during the summer break, undoubtedly aided by its shock podium in Germany, but it has now reverted to its seemingly-perennial position of seventh. That it departed Austin without a point owed much to misfortune, for the pace of the STR14 was sufficient for the team to stand a strong chance of getting both cars inside the top 10. Pierre Gasly was superb for much of the weekend but in being passed by the recovering Perez he sustained terminal suspension damage. “I was running in the points for 53 laps out of 56,” said a downbeat Gasly. “I think it was a really good race until that point. We were matching the McLaren in front and keeping the pace with Carlos, which was quite a surprise and, yeah, three laps at the end we started to fight with Sergio and then, yeah, we came together in Turn 13.” There was still a point on offer for Toro Rosso as Kvyat forcefully flicked Perez out of the way on the final lap… only for stewards to deem his move overly aggressive. “Ah fuck, that's bullshit,” said Kvyat when he was told of the sanction. “It's unbelievable. I don't know, the stewards are completely…I have no words. It's stupid, so stupid.”
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