Lewis Hamilton wins 2014 United States GP

Lewis Hamilton has extended his championship lead by winning the United States Grand Prix. With two races left he now enjoys a 24 point lead over his teammate, Nico Rosberg, who finished second in Austin.

Rosberg made a clean getaway from pole and held Hamilton at bay until around one third race distance. Once Hamilton took the lead he had Rosberg’s measure.

Finishing third was Daniel Ricciardo who dropped places after a poor start from P5. He fought his way back up the field through a combination of great on track driving and clean pit stops.

The Williams pairing of Felipe Massa and Valtteri Bottas finished fourth and fifth. Ricciardo overtook Massa in the last round of tyre changes and opened up a small but comfortable gap. Massa came back late in the race but couldn’t get past the likeabkle Australian.

Fernando Alonso finished sixth ahead of a fast charging Sebastian Vettel who made a late change for fresh tyres and spiced up the latter part of the race with his charge through the pack. Kevin Magnussen, Jean-Eric Vergne and Pastor Maldonado rounded out the top 10.

Maldonado finished P9 on track but was given a 5 second penalty for speeding in the pit lane. He still finished in the points, the first time for him in 2014.

The F1 circus backs up next weekend in Sao Paulo before the double points novelty of Abu Dhabi closes out the season. Of course, that means Rosberg can easily close up that 24 point gap to Hamilton with a good drive or a stroke of luck.

However, Hamilton has won five races in a row now and has 10 wins for the year, compared with Rosberg’s four victories. It would be unjust if Hamilton didn’t win his second world title. And if that proves to be the case won’t the British F1 media mafia let it be known!

2014 United States Grand Prix final placings

1. Lewis Hamilton Mercedes AMG – 56 Laps (25 pts)
2. Nico Rosberg Mercedes AMG – +4.3 secs (18 pts)
3. Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull Racing – +25.5 secs (15 pts)
4. Felipe Massa Williams – +26.9 secs (12 pts)
5. Valtteri Bottas Williams – +30.9 secs (10 pts)
6. Fernando Alonso Ferrari – +95.2 secs (8 pts)
7. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull Racing – +95.7 secs (6 pts)
8. Kevin Magnussen McLaren – +100.7 secs (4 pts)
9. Pastor Maldonado Lotus – +107.9 secs (2 pts)
10. Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso – +108.9 secs (1 pt)
11. Romain Grosjean Lotus – +1 Lap
12. Jenson Button McLaren – +1 Lap
13. Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari – +1 Lap
14. Esteban Gutierrez Sauber – +1 Lap
15. Daniil Kvyat Toro Rosso – +1 Lap

Retired/Not classified
Nico Hulkenberg Force India – +40 Laps (Engine)
Sergio Perez Force India – +55 Laps (Accident damage)
Adrian Sutil Sauber – +56 Laps (Accident)

Fastest lap
Sebastian Vettel Red Bull Racing – 1:41.379 (Lap 50)

Note: Button qualified P7, dropped 5 grid spots for gearbox change; Kvyat qualified P14, dropped 10 for engine change; Vettel qualified P17, started from pit lane for complete power unit change. Maldonado finished P9, but 5s added to race time for pit-lane speeding.

2014 F1 world championship – Drivers (Top 10)

1. Lewis Hamilton Mercedes AMG – 316
2. Nico Rosberg Mercedes AMG – 292
3. Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull – 214
4. Valtteri Bottas Williams – 155
5. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull – 149
6. Fernando Alonso Ferrari – 149
7. Jenson Button McLaren – 94
8. Felipe Massa Williams – 83
9. Nico Hulkenberg Force India – 76
10. Kevin Magnussen McLaren – 53

2014 F1 world championship – Constructors

1. Mercedes – 608
2. Red Bull Racing – 363
3. Williams-Mercedes – 238
4. Ferrari – 196
5. McLaren-Mercedes – 147
6. Force India-Mercedes – 123
7. STR-Renault – 30
8. Lotus-Renault – 10
9. Marussia-Ferrari – 2
10. Sauber-Ferrari – 0
11. Caterham-Renault – 0