21/10/2018
NEWS STORY
If yesterday's pace from Ferrari marked a revival, renaissance or whatever one chooses to call it, it is quite simply too little, too late, and, frankly, a bit of an insult, considering some of the Scuderia's recent performances.
Then again, as we have been saying for some time, perhaps, once we get the championship nonsense out of the way - for anyone who thinks Sebastian Vettel and Ferrari can overcome a 67-point deficit is talking complete nonsense - we can sit back and think what might have been, as the Scuderia goes head-to-head with Mercedes in a fight more about restoring pride than anything else.
Even then however, as witnessed yesterday, what Vettel and Ferrari had, Hamilton and Mercedes were able to match it... and then some.
The championship lost, all Vettel can hope for now is redemption, three or four races in which he proves the doubters - including yours truly - wrong. However, Hamilton will not make it easy for him. For while, some still compare the German to his hero, Michael Schumacher, it is the Briton who actually appears to have the seven-time champions' remorselessness.
So, please, let's get the title decided and done with, and let's have some racing in the final few outings of 2018, and what better place to start than the Circuit of the Americas.
Of course, all eyes will be on Hamilton and Vettel at the start, but watch out for Kimi Raikkonen, who of the leading bunch is starting on the ultrasofts.
Due to Friday's wash-out, going into today's race, much like yesterday, was a step into the unknown in terms of set-up, and with drivers unable to complete their race simulations on Friday, this has left a question mark over tyre degradation also. In other words, with just one day's running on slicks, the teams are pretty much in the dark as to how the tyres will perform today.
Overnight, concerned at unexpected degradation to the rears witnessed yesterday, and increased temperatures today, Pirelli ordered the teams to increase tyre pressures.
Of course, when one thinks of tyre issues and the United States Grand Prix, one cannot help but recall the travesty of Indianapolis 2005.
Back to the main story, and with the title still supposedly up for grabs, expect both Valtteri Bottas and Raikkonen to be called on to play wingman today, though how they react to any such instructions remains to be seen.
Red Bull has looked stronger here than expected, which means Daniel Ricciardo could be a spanner in the works, the Australian needing - and deserving - a decent result in light of his recent issues.
Courtesy of that suspension failure and a subsequent gearbox change, Max Verstappen starts from the back of the grid, which, if nothing else, guarantees some fun and games as the youngster picks off the back-markers one by one.
And as if that isn't enough, we then have the battle for best of the rest, which, with just a couple of races remaining, is not only about unsigned drivers still looking to secure a seat, but, more importantly, the team standings, which, after all, decide the prize money.
Only on Thursday, Romain Grosjean referred to the points that were "stolen" from him at Monza, and while he and Haas await the decision of their appeal, what better way to get back at Renault than by finishing ahead, especially at what is the American outfit's home race.
That said, despite being retained for 2019, Kevin Magnussen still doesn't appear to have rediscovered the form we witnessed in the first half of the season, while since the summer break Grosjean has gone from strength to strength.
Not for the first time, Esteban Ocon out-performed his teammate, who must be heaving a huge sigh of relief that the 2019 Racing Point contract is done and dusted.
Nico Hulkenberg looked strong in qualifying and should bring home a decent points haul, while Charles Leclerc is also set to add to his tally.
Though Toro Rosso has ditched the raft of upgrades due to be used on Pierre Gasly's car, the Frenchman and his teammate do at least have the updated Honda power unit, and though starting from the back may just be able to nibble at the back of the Top Ten.
For Williams and McLaren it promises to be another long Sunday afternoon, though Fernando Alonso can usually be relied upon to provide his own unique brand of entertainment, especially if it means messing with the leaders.
In a late move, following an issue on Bottas' car, Mercedes has opted to change the water pump on both its cars.
In terms of tyre strategy, Pirelli claims quickest is a one-stopper, with an initial stint on supersofts for 18-24 laps then softs to the finish. Slightly slower is to start on ultrasoft for 14-20 laps then softs to the flag. Clearly slower is to start on ultrasofts for 20-25 laps then softs to the flag.
The pitlane opens and one by one the drivers head out.
Air temperature is 20.3 degrees C, while the track temperature is 27.8 degrees. It is bright and sunny, unlike the previous two days. There is 0% chance of rain.
Hamilton, Bottas, Ricciardo, Vettel, Sainz, Magnussen, Alonso, Sirotkin, Stroll, Vandoorne, Gasly and Hartley all start on supersofts, while the rest - bar Ericsson and Verstappen, who are on softs - start on the purple-banded ultras. Strangely, Sainz appears to be starting on used supers, though he qualified outside the top ten.
The filed heads off on the warm-up lap. All get away cleanly.
The grid forms.
They're away.
Hamilton moves across the track to cover Raikkonen, and as they head up the hill the pair are side-by-side. However, the Finn has the inside line in T1 and holds off Hamilton, while further back Vettel runs wide finding his progress blocked by Bottas and Verstappen. On rejoining he is lucky not to collect Hulkenberg. Behind the Ferrari, Sainz also runs wide, and on rejoining gets ahead of Ocon.
Through Turns 3, 4 and 5, Verstappen is all over Bottas with Vettel in hot pursuit.
However, tyre smoke fills the air, along with a certain amount of debris as Alonso goes heading off into the distance after colliding with Stroll, the left-front wheel on the Williams doing the side of the McLaren no favours whatsoever.
"These guys are impossible to race with," says Alonso, "impossible".
Elsewhere, Leclerc and Grosjean have had a coming together, the Haas driver out-braking himself and hit an innocent Sauber driver with his right-front sending him into a spin.
Vettel passes Ricciardo, but the Australian fights back, the German out-brakes himself and as they continue to battle at T12 they touch and the Ferrari spins.
The joy witnessed on Maurizio Arrivabene's face when Raikkonen took the lead now replaced by despair.
At the end of lap 1, it's: Raikkonen, Hamilton, Bottas, Ricciardo, Hulkenberg, Sainz, Ocon, Perez, Verstappen, and Magnussen. Leclerc, Stroll, Grosjean and Alonso all pit while Vettel has dropped to 14th.
As Verstappen closes on Perez, both first lap incidents are under investigation.
Vettel follows Verstappen's example of picking off the back-markers, the Red Bull now up to 8th and the Ferrari up to 11th.
After 4 laps, Raikkonen leads by 1.569s, with Hamilton 4.2sclear of third-placed Bottas.
Verstappen passes Ocon for seventh, while Grosjean has pitted again and retired, to join Alonso as the second DNF of the afternoon.
As Raikkonen reports loss of rear grip, and fears damage, Hamilton is told his team is happy for him to challenge the Finn.
Stroll gets a drive-through for the first lap clash with Alonso... not that it helps the Spaniard.
As Stroll serves his drive-through, at the end of lap 5, Raikkonen is advised that the team can find no issues with the rear of his car.
The incident involving Grosjean and Leclerc will be investigated after the race.
As Vettel passes Ocon for 8th, Hamilton is told to watch the track limits at T19.
Verstappen passes Hulkenberg for sixth and sets about his next target... Ricciardo.
Check out our Sunday gallery from COTA, here.
No further action to be taken over the Vettel / Ricciardo incident.
On lap 9, Ricciardo pulls to the side of the track at T11, his race over. The Australian cuts a sad figure as he walks away from the stricken Red Bull.
Meanwhile, Hamilton reports that he is having difficulty keeping up with Raikkonen.
As the Red Bull is removed, the VSC is deployed.
While the leaders skip a 'free' pit stop, Sirotkin, Vandoorne and Gasly all pit.
Next time around, Hamilton is told to do the opposite to Raikkonen if VSC conditions still apply.
After a little dummy bluff, Raikkonen passes the pit entrance, which means a very, very last call for Hamilton. The Briton rejoins in third.
Unhappy not have pitted and shot those ultras, Raikkonen is told that Hamilton is "most likely on two stops", though that's highly unlikely.
The VSC is withdrawn on lap 13.
No sooner has Raikkonen posted a new fastest lap, than Hamilton, who has passed his Mercedes teammate, responds with a 38.860.
"Are you concerned about my engine or something," asks Verstappen. "Negative," comes the reply.
A PB for Vettel on lap 14, but the German remains fifth, 8s down on Verstappen.
Vettel is appraised of Hamilton tyre stop, but unlike Raikkonen isn't told the Briton might be on a two-stopper.
In terms of the best of the rest, the Renaults are running sixth (Hulkenberg) and seventh, ahead of the Panthers, with Ocon eighth and Perez ninth. Magnussen completes the top ten.
Hartley is up to a very promising 11th.
18 laps into the race and the stewards reveal that Sainz is under investigation for running wide on the opening lap and gaining an advantage - the move when he followed Vettel wide and rejoined ahead of Ocon.
Bottas is told that Raikkonen's times are dropping off. The Ferrari driver currently leads Hamilton by 0.801s.
Stroll and Verstappen are both warned after exceeding track limits at T19.
"I cannot hold him behind," admits Raikkonen. Nonetheless, at the start of lap 20, Hamilton makes his move and the Finn does indeed hold him off.
Ferrari continues to tell the Finn that they think Hamilton is on a two-stop. Clearly they want the Finn to hold-up the Briton for the sake of Vettel.
Such is Raikkonen's pace, he and Hamilton are lapping almost 2sslower than the cars behind.
Sainz is handed a 5s time penalty for that lap 1 excursion.
Again, Hamilton makes a move, but again Raikkonen sees him off. The Finn subsequently dives into the pits, rejoining in 5th on softs.
In clean air, Hamilton goes purple in S1. Elsewhere, Vettel is told to keep his head down, "important phase," he is advised.
Verstappen pits at the end of lap 22, the Red Bull driver rejoining in 5th 5.3s down on Raikkonen. Ocon also pits.
Bottas pits next time around (lap 23), as Raikkonen posts a new fastest lap (38.856). The Mercedes driver rejoins 1.149s behind Verstappen. Hulkenberg also pits.
So, after 23 laps, Hamilton leads Vettel by 16.579s though the German has yet to stop. Raikkonen is third, 0.807s behind his teammate, ahead of Verstappen. Bottas, Sainz, Perez, Magnussen, Hulkenberg and Hartley.
Sainz pits at the end of lap 24 and also serves his penalty.
Vettel is told to allow Raikkonen through, though there is a certain amount of confusion between the concerned parties.
As Raikkonen posts another fastest lap (38.742), Sainz rejoins in 11th.
Perez pits at the end of lap 25, as Vettel urges his team to allow him to stop.
As Verstappen sweeps past the Ferrari, Vettel is told to pit. Switching to softs the German rejoins in 5th.
After 27 laps, all bar Magnussen and Ericsson have pitted.
Drivers continue to exceed the limits at T19, with Vandoorne likely to be the first to be punished. "We've had three warnings, any more and we'll be reported to the stewards," he is advised.
On fresh rubber, Vettel goes quickest (38.715), but he has to make up a 16.569 deficit to Bottas.
"These brakes are really not good," warns Verstappen.
Magnussen finally pits at the end of lap 30, as does Ericsson. The Dane rejoins in 10th on softs and the Swede in 15th on supers.
"Box this lap, we're retiring the car," Leclerc is told, "box this lap, box, box."
Though he enjoys a 14.8s lead, Hamilton's times are dropping worryingly.
Indeed, Hamilton is almost 2s a lap off Vettel's pace, the rear tyres on the Mercedes clearly blistered.
As Hamilton calls for "blue flags", it's clear the Briton is getting anxious.
Vettel responds with a 38.462, though he remains 32.047s behind the race leader.
"I'm getting pretty close to the car in front, what's going to happen," asks Hartley. The car in front being his Toro Rosso teammate.
"Left-rear vibration, the rears are running out," warns Hamilton. The Briton's lead over Vettel now down to 26s, which, with a pit stop costing around 23s means trouble.
After 36 laps, Raikkonen is 7.8s behind the Briton.
At the end of lap 37, Hamilton pits, as does Gasly. Switching to softs, the Mercedes rejoins in 4th, behind Bottas but ahead of Vettel.
So, after 37 laps (of 56), Raikkonen leads Verstappen by 2.706s, with Bottas a further 5.8s behind. Hamilton is 4.3s down on the Finnish Mercedes driver but 3.7s ahead of Vettel. Hulkenberg is sixth, ahead of Sainz, Ocon, Magnussen and Perez.
Told he is 12s behind Raikkonen, Hamilton is confused as to how it got to such a gap. Despite the confusion, which was down to back-markers, the Briton posts a new fastest lap (27.702).
As Hamilton passes his obliging Finnish teammate, Raikkonen is warned that the Briton will catch him in the last three lap of the race. Which, if their earlier scrap is anything to go by, means lots of fun for us.
"This ******* Toro Rosso is not moving," complains Raikkonen as he loses time behind Hartley.
As Hamilton closes in on Verstappen, Vettel hunts down Bottas.
"We see some blisters on Bottas," Vettel is told, "we believe he is trying to go to the end."
Verstappen told to lift off by 15 metres into each of the braking zones.
"He's going pretty quick," says Hamilton of Verstappen and Raikkonen.
Meanwhile, Vettel is now within DRS range of Bottas, who is 10.6s down on Hamilton.
Check out our Sunday gallery from COTA, here.
Gasly is warned that he cannot afford any further excursions at T19.
"I feel like we've got the wrong tyre," claims Hamilton.
A good result for Renault today, Sainz back up to 7th, behind his teammate, despite that time penalty.
Hamilton is lapping around a second quicker than Verstappen and Raikkonen, but the dirty air effect means he cannot afford to get any closer.
"Engine one to the end," Vettel is told. Party mode? Indeed, for in no time at all the German is 0.6s behind Bottas' Mercedes.
Out front, Raikkonen, Verstappen and Hamilton are covered by 2.094s.
No sooner is Verstappen advised that Hamilton is not within DRS range, than the Briton is indeed close enough. However, like Vettel's pursuit of Bottas, there is a concertina effect, with the gap opening and then closing again.
"There is a whole world of pain ahead," Verstappen is told, "so an opportunity could be coming."
For lap after lap it continues, but such is the state of the aero, nobody can get close. On two occasions gets DRS but s unable to make it stick.
The two go head-to-head, Hamilton is alongside the Red Bull for corner after corner, but the Dutchman is in no mood to surrender and eventually Hamilton runs wide. "Keep it clean," Verstappen is told.
Vettel makes his move on Bottas at T1 and the Finn runs wide, the German is through.
In the meantime, the battle for second means that Raikkonen has extended his lead to 1.9s.
The Iceman begins his final lap, as Hamilton continues to hound Verstappen.
A popular win for Raikkonen, his first victory since 2013 with Lotus, but in the Mercedes garage Toto Wolff is in no mood for celebrating.
"A bit unexpected, starting 18th," says Verstappen. "Well done," says Christian Horner, "a very mature drive."
In all reality, another mistake by Vettel and poor strategy from Ferrari, though in the end it all appeared to come good. However, both have cause to thank Raikkonen, not only for his win, but the dummy he sold Hamilton and his subsequent battle with the Briton. Class driving from the Finn, and another example of why he will benefit Sauber next season.
While Hamilton will be bitterly disappointed not to have wrapped this up, it was a popular result and a race that featured some great action, even if, once again, these wretched aero rules prevented us from seeing genuine wheel-to-wheel combat.
More wretched luck for Ricciardo, alongside another charge through the field from his teammate.
Renault edges further ahead in the 'best of the rest' while Racing Point adds a few more points to its tally as it closes in on McLaren.
So, the title fight - such as it is - is prolonged for another week, but if Mexico is even half as entertaining as this afternoon it should be fun.