Lewis Hamilton clinches sixth World F1 Championship; Bottas wins race
By Abhishek Aggarwal
Austin, 3 Nov 2019: Defending World Champion Lewis Hamilton came second behind teammate Valtteri Bottas on Sunday. But it was enough as the Briton was crowned FIA Formula 1 World Champion for 2019, his sixth World Championship, just one short of the all-time record of Michael Schumacher, at the United States Grand Prix, the 19th round of the 21-event FIA World Championship here at the Circuit of the Americas on Sunday.
It was Bottas who won the race with a two-stopper, getting the ninth one-two for Mercedes AMG Petronas Motorsport team, who already clinched the Constructors’ World Championship. After a tense tactical battle, the top-three drivers fought till the last few laps and with his worn out tyres, Hamilton could not stop Bottas going past him, in a second attempt, and had to be content with the second place. As he just needed four points to clinch the sixth World title, the reigning world champ kept his cool and clinched the issue.
The Circuit of the Americas, always offers a wide variety of strategies and the same was seen all the way down the field but Hamilton who dominated at the circuit, the last four years today, gave way to Bottas’ fifth win. But nevertheless, it was a creditable show having started from P5. Red Bull’s talented youngster Max Verstappen was locked in a tactical battle with Bottas for most of the race, and he was on a similar medium-hard-medium two-stop strategy but could not get past Hamilton at the finish and forced to finish third with yellow flags out towards the end. Bottas also sealed his second place in the championship.
Hamilton would have loved to take the world title by winning the race as he expressed during a short chat after the win and also expressed `his love to return to India’, when this reporter spoke to him, but we well reserve that for another article.
But it was team Scuderia Ferrari Mission Winnow, who were the big loser during the week-end as they ended up without a podium since Spain. However, the silver lining was provided by Charles Leclerc, who came fourth and also took the all-important point that clinched the team’s second place in the Constructors’ Championship. But all did not go according to Ferrari plan and the lead driver and multiple former world champion Sebastian Vettel retired on Lap 8 with a broken right rear suspension. Despite starting from P2, Vettel struggled during the race losing many places in the first two laps itself.
The next stop, the penultimate in the 21-round calendar will be Brazil for the Formula 1 Heineken Grande Premio Do Brasil from November 15 to 17.
FIA release adds: Hamilton started the race from fifth place, his lowest grid spot of the season, but after the start he quickly climbed into the top three as both Ferrari drivers had difficult starts. Sebastian Vettel was passed by Verstappen into Turn 1 and Leclerc was passed by Hamilton.
Further back, Red Bull’s Alec Albon collided with Carlos Sainz and the Thai driver was forced to pit at the end of the lap. He took on medium tyres, rejoined in P20 and then began a fight back through the order.
Vettel, meanwhile, was losing more ground. The Ferrari driver reported “crazy understeer” after the start and by the end of lap one he was down to P7 as both McLaren’s Lando Norris and Renault’s Daniel Ricciardo surged past.
And by lap 8 the German’s race was run. As he ran over the kerbs in Turn 8, his rear right suspension collapsed. He managed to maintain control and pulled over at the side of the track and retired.
By lap 12 Bottas had carved out a three-second gap to Verstappen, with Hamilton a further eight tenths of a second behind. Hamilton now began to close on the Red Bull driver and at the end of the following lap Verstappen elected to put for fresh tyres. He bolted on a set of hard tyres and rejoined in P4 ahead of Renault’s Daniel Ricciardo.
Mercedes responded to Verstappen’s stop by pitting leader Bottas at the end of the following lap and he rejoined in P3, just ahead of the Dutchman. Both quickly powered past the much slower Leclerc and resumed their battle in P2 and P3 respectively.
Further back, Albon made a second stop, for medium tyres, on lap 20 and dropped back to P15. He once again started a march up the order and by half distance he was back into the points, in ninth place.
Hamilton, though, stayed on track and nursed his starting his medium tyres until he was at last passed by Bottas on lap 24. The Briton dived for the pits and after switching to a set of hard tyres he rejoined in third place behind Max.
Ahead, Bottas now led Verstappen by six seconds, with Hamilton a further 11 seconds back in P3. Leclerc was now a lonely fourth, some 25 seconds off Hamilton and 14 seconds clear of Ricciardo. The McLarens of Norris and Sainz were now sixth and seventh and respectively and after dismissing Pierre Gasly and Sainz, Albon found himself in P7. His next target was Norris and within two laps he’d caught his fellow rookie. He then made quick work of reclaiming his starting position of sixth with a good move past Norris into Turn 1.
With his tyres fading, Verstappen was now beginning to drop back from leader Bottas. He dived into pit lane on lap 35 to take on a new set of medium tyres. Mercedes again covered the move by pitting Bottas at the end of the next tour and as Hamilton once again assumed the race lead as Bottas emerged in P2.
Bottas then began to close on Hamilton and by lap 50 the Finn found himself within DRS range of his team-mate and began to attack. His first effort was rebuffed, but with five laps remaining there was nothing Hamilton could do as Bottas made the most of DRS on the back straight to power past on the inside and reclaim the lead.
As Hamilton’s pace dropped on fading tyres, Verstappen smelled blood. With two laps left the Dutchman got to within DRS range of the championship leader, but though he pushed to find a weakness, no opportunity presented itself and as Bottas crossed the line to take his fourth win of the year, and Hamilton took second to wrap up his sixth Formula 1 World Drivers’ title, the Red Bull driver was forced to settle for third place.
Behind the top three, Charles Leclerc finished a distant fourth, some 52 seconds behind the race winner. Albon finished fifth after once again dropping back following a third pit stop for soft tyres late in the race. Sixth place went to Ricciardo with Norris seventh ahead of team-mate Sainz. Nico Hulkenberg took an extra two points for Renault with ninth place and the final point on offer went to Racing Point’s Sergio Pérez.
2019 FIA Formula One United States Grand Prix – Race
1 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 56 1:33’55.653
2 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 56 1:33’59.801 4.148
3 Max Verstappen Red Bull/Honda 56 1:34’00.655 5.002
4 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 56 1:34’47.892 52.239
5 Alexander Albon Red Bull/Honda 56 1:35’13.691 1’18.038
6 Daniel Ricciardo Renault 56 1:35’26.019 1’30.366
7 Lando Norris McLaren/Renault 56 1:35’26.417 1’30.764
8 Carlos Sainz Jr. McLaren/Renault 55 1:34’04.201 1 Lap
9 Nico Hülkenberg Renault 55 1:34’08.115 1 Lap
10 Sergio Pérez Racing Point/Mercedes 55 1:34’14.355 1 Lap
11 Kimi Räikkönen Alfa Romeo/Ferrari 55 1:34’15.280 1 Lap
12 Daniil Kvyat Toro Rosso/Honda 55 1:34’17.420 1 Lap
13 Lance Stroll Racing Point/Mercedes 55 1:34’37.575 1 Lap
14 A.Giovinazzi Alfa Romeo/Ferrari 55 1:34’49.443 1 Lap
15 Romain Grosjean Haas/Ferrari 55 1:35’06.885 1 Lap
16 Pierre Gasly Toro Rosso/Honda 54 1:33’11.079
17 George Russell Williams/Mercedes 54 1:34’18.137 2 Laps
18 Kevin Magnussen Haas/Ferrari 52 1:29’53.921 Brakes
Robert Kubica Williams/Mercedes 31 54’56.089
Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 7 12’03.130
