The United States Grand Prix proved a memorable weekend in the history of Formula 1.
Lewis Hamilton was crowned World Champion for the sixth time in his 12-year Formula 1 career after losing out on the win at the US GP on the final few laps.
Overall it was a strong showing from the Mercedes team this weekend, however there was plenty of other action further down the standings too.
Mercedes AMG Petronas
Lewis Hamilton – 2nd
Six World Championship titles. Six. Despite his teammate winning the Grand Prix all eyes were on Hamilton as he sealed his sixth world title. He battled hard throughout the race and showed the credentials of a man who should be going down as one of the sports greats. He made the race hard from the get go, having a sloppy qualifying, finishing the session in fifth place but after a strong first lap he was already up into third. There is a whole range of superlatives that could be used to describe him, but champion is a pretty good one.
9/10
Valtteri Bottas – 1st
A very solid race by the Finn after a dominant Saturday and Sunday in the USA. However, the whole event was overshadowed by his teammate winning his sixth title. From the get-go Valtteri Bottas looked ready to battle and in the end, he managed to come away victorious on the day. At times it looked like Hamilton may have gotten the better of him, but it was Bottas that came out on top.
10/10
Scuderia Ferrari
Sebastian Vettel – DNF
After a woeful start, dropping down the order past both Lando Norris and Daniel Ricciardo into seventh place the race failed to get any better. In the process of tracking Ricciardo down, the suspension on the right rear tyre gave way after venturing too far onto the rumble strips, ultimately ending his race on lap ten.
4/10
Charles Leclerc – 4th
The Monegasque was consistent if a little absent towards the top of the pack in the race. With 15 laps left he was 25 seconds away from both cars in front and behind him. Overall Ferrari struggled with pace in the race trim within the first half of the race, and the performance of Leclerc really highlighted how ill equipped the Scuderia were for this weekend. He was a passenger for large parts.
6/10
Red Bull Racing
Max Verstappen – 3rd
Despite pushing hard and fast for the remaining ten laps, the best Max Verstappen could do was third place. The Red Bull seemed to have very good pace this weekend, best shown going through the S’s towards the start of the lap when the chassis of the car really comes into play. If there were a couple more laps in the race it would have been very plausible to see Verstappen on the second step of the podium opposed to the third.
8/10
Alexander Albon – 5th
The start of the race was very much compromised for Albon due to an altercation with Carlos Sainz coming around the first turn hairpin. Being part of a three-wide scenario forced the Thai driver wide into Sainz, causing him to drop to the back of the grid. However, a fantastic recovery drive helped to bring him back up the order. He would finish the race in fifth position, highlighting his ability to make his way through the midfield teams with ease.
7/10
McLaren
Carlos Sainz – 8th
Another classic race for Sainz, albeit a little bit quieter than he might be used to. Tangling in the early stages with Albon, it certainly hindered the start that he would have wanted coming into the race. Through good use of the pitstop window and the consistent nature of his driving he managed to finish the race in a decent eighth place.
7/10
Lando Norris – 7th
Following a top spot finish in Q1 yesterday, Lando Norris picked up where he left off by starting the race like a rocket. In the space of two corners he managed to pass both Ricciardo and Vettel, putting him into a strong place from the get-go. Arguably one of the best battles on the track today was between Norris and Ricciardo, especially in the early sections of the race. After getting in front of his teammate late-on, it will go down as a solid race for the young Brit.
8/10
Renault F1 Team
Daniel Ricciardo - 6th
Renualt have faced a fair share of controversy in the last few weeks, however Ricciardo did a pretty good job of masking that with a brilliant performance finishing best of the rest in sixth place. He made light work of passing Vettel and was the main beneficiary of his suspension failure, giving him noone to worry about behind as he tracked down Norris. As it has been all season, the best of the rest car was a while away from the top five, however its still a performance to be proud of.
9/10
Nico Hulkenberg – 9th
Nico Hulkenberg was the last driver to pit from the start and it hindered his progress for the race. He was stuck on very old tyres which saw him drop down the pack, even before he went for his pitstop. The second half of the race was relatively quiet for him, however he still showed qualities of a driver who should be on the grid at the start of next year.
7/10
Scuderia Toro Rosso
Daniil Kvyat – 12th
What Danill Kvyat said in the post-race press meeting clearly summed up his feelings on the race. All was going well in the closing few laps of the race, until he went to move past Perez into turn 15. The move would ultimately push the Mexican wide, losing his spot in the top ten. However, after the race it was announced that Kvyat would face a five second time penalty. It was a sloppy move that mirrored that of what he tried on Kimi Raikkonen back in Singapore.
5/10
Pierre Gasly -16th
The second Toro Rosso to tangle with Perez. Pierre Gasly was closing in in the remaining few laps when the two started to tangle, resulting in Gasly breaking his front right suspension and having to limp to the flag in 16th place, despite being much higher hip than that. He started the weekend in tenth place and will be disappointed to have ended it the way he did.
5/10
Racing Point F1
Sergio Perez – 10th
Starting from the pitlane was hardly the news that Sergio Perez would have wanted to come into the weekend with but he still put in a good fight for a large portion of Sunday. At the midpoint of the race the Mexican had brought himself up to 11th place. To bring himself to finish in tenth place after starting in the pitlane and tangling with both Toro Rossos, he would have to go down as one of the drivers of the day.
9/10
Lance Stroll – 13th
The Canadian didn’t really get up to speed today and he managed to bring the car home in 13th place having started 14th and that’s about all you can say about his drive. He was the first driver to go onto the soft, red tyre in the second phase of the race, but failed to make the most its speed advantage. Overall he was anonymous throughout the race.
5/10
Haas F1 team
Romain Grosjean – 15th
The grass is green, the sky is blue, and Romain Grosjean finishes well outside the top ten. The only reason he managed to gain a couple of places towards the end of the race was due to the scuffle that happened between the Toro Rosso’s and Perez. For three quarters of the race he was stuck behind his teammate not really getting anywhere. Haas didn’t exactly struggle for pace this weekend in the early sessions, however the slow Haas that we have seen for the last few races reappeared on Sunday.
2/10
Kevin Magnussen - DNF
Qualifying in 12th it looked like the Haas of Kevin Magnussen had managed to find the pace that they had been looking for in recent races. The first half of the race was very much an unwanted return to form, finding himself scrapping with the Alfa Romeo of Antonio Giovinazzi down in 14th place. Things went spectacularly downhill however as he managed to beach the car into the gravel in sector two whilst running in 16th place.
5/10
Alfa Romeo Sauber F1
Kimi Raikkonen – 11th
Raikkonen had by far the best start on the grid, having risen from 17th to 11th within the space of five laps, staying there for the foreseeable in the race. 11th is exactly where he would finish too, following the penalty given to Kvyat. It was a return to form for Kimi following a few races that could be classed as out of character for the most experienced driver on the paddock.
7/10
Antonio Giovinazzi – 14th
Just like Grosjean and Stroll, it was a bit of an anonymous weekend. The Italian didn’t really get up to much or cause any issues for himself or those around him. The only time any of the cameras really caught a glimpse of him was during the times that he got lapped by the lead cars.
6/10
Williams F1
George Russell – 17th
Its really very hard not to feel a degree of sadness for George Russell. The Brit propped up the standings once again and this time it was via a 50-second deficit to the Haas in front of him. Other than acting as a mobile roadblock for the front runners he was confined to the back of the grid. At the end of the day there is very little that can be done.
4/10
Robert Kubica - DNF
After qualifying in 19th place Robert Kubica had a pretty average race in terms of what we are used to from the Polish driver. However, his race came to an early end when a mechanical fault halted his race on lap 33.
3/10