FORMULA 1 - 2015

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F1 refuelling return could help 'alternative' engine plan

Bernie Ecclestone says that refuelling could still return to Formula 1 as a way of balancing up car performance, as his plans for an 'alternative' engine ramp up.

The F1 supremo expects the FIA to confirm at the start of next week that it wants to open up a tender for an independent engine supplier from 2017.

As Motorsport.com reported on Friday, a push is being made by Ecclestone and FIA president Jean Todt to introduce an independent supply of V6 twin turbos – most likely to the same 2.2-litre size as IndyCar.

Speaking to media at the Circuit of the Americas on Saturday, Ecclestone said plans for the engine were advanced and confirmation of the FIA's intention was expected imminently.

"The FIA will put out a press release on Monday or Tuesday, I don't know," he said.

Performance balance

Ecclestone suggested that there were already a 'couple' of manufacturer being targeted to win the supply deal, and said he was happy for F1's regulations to be tweaked to ensure both the current and new type of engine were competitive.

"They [the new engine] will probably have more power, and use more fuel," he explained. "So it means I suppose that there will be some regulation changes, which has already been anticipated for 2017, so there is nothing new."

He added: "We used to have people running turbo engine and people running normally aspirated. It wasn't a two-tier system. It was a choice. Whatever it is, I anticipate they will be able to continue running their engine and others running the other engine."

Refuelling idea

As well as there being a need for the power of the engines to be balanced out, the car regulations may need to be tweaked as well.

Ecclestone suggested that a refuelling option could be put on the table as well, to ensure those cars that ran the less economical engines were not penalised too much.

"Obviously it can be done, yes," he said. "Maybe we will have refuelling again for those that want it. If people have an engine that is super efficient they won't want to obviously. They don't have to."

Refuelling was originally considered for 2017 as a way of making cars quicker in the races, but was rejected after concerns about its impact on the racing.

Ferrari veto

Ecclestone thinks that he will be able to push the independent engine proposal through the Strategy Group and F1 Commission in spite of manufacturer opposition.

However, there remains the potential obstacle of a long-standing veto that Ferrari has had on technical rule changes

"It depends what their veto rights are. It is a bit complicated actually," he said.

"The funny thing is the Strategy Group is six votes for FIA, six votes for teams and six votes for the commercial rights holder.

"So if by chance, the FIA and CRH agree, it doesn't make a difference what other people do. It is called democracy."

He also dismissed suggestions that car makers would be unhappy at having wasted money on developing the current V6 turbos.

"The money they spent, the R&D they spent, it was for their road cars," he said.

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Dennis stopping Honda from supplying Red Bull - Ecclestone

F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone says that Honda wants to supply Red Bull in 2016, but McLaren boss Ron Dennis is blocking the deal from happening.

Ecclestone added that he and the FIA agreed with Honda that they would expand to two teams in their second year.

However, McLaren has a veto on the identity of who that team might be.

"The honest answer at the moment it would appear that Honda are happy to give them an engine and Mr Dennis thinks they shouldn't," said Ecclestone.

"Although Honda have got an agreement with the FIA and myself that they would allow them into F1 to supply to engines to one team for first year, two teams second and three teams the third.

"And they somehow got involved and made a commitment to Ron that he had a veto on any engines, and he doesn't want Red Bull.

"He doesn't want them. I think he believes they may be competitors."

Asked how McLaren could have a veto given the Honda/FIA agreement, he said: "In fairness to Ron, he probably didn't know. I am not blaming anybody. They are the facts.

"At the time when they came in the FIA said if we let you into F1 you have to supply three teams, they said as we are brand new into F1 we don't think we can do that.

"We supply one team for the first year and after that, second and third year."

Ecclestone was non-committal on whether or not the deal would go through.

"I don't know… Ron has said definitely not. As far as he is concerned, so I don't know if his veto will stand up.

"They can only run Honda if Honda agreed and they won't agree obviously and have an argument with Ron, because Ron will sue them."

Asked if Honda would really represent competitive engine that Red Bull owner Dietrich Mateschitz wants, he said: "At the moment... But you don't know what next year's Honda is going to be."

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Haas set to confirm Gutierrez in Mexico

Esteban Gutierrez's switch to the Haas Formula 1 team is set to be announced next Friday in Mexico, ending weeks of speculation about the Ferrari test driver's future.

The Mexican has long been favourite for the second seat alongside Romain Grosjean, but the team has been reluctant to confirm its plans up until now.

However, sources close to the deal have told Motorsport.com that the deal will be confirmed on the Friday afternoon of the Mexican Grand Prix.

Haas dropped a firm hint about the Gutierrez plans by saying on Saturday his team will announce its drivers in Mexico City next Friday.

Grosjean said he had not been officially informed about the plans for his teammate, however.

"I know nothing of my teammate," he said. "Haas will announce at the right time. But I want a partner with experience."

Gutierrez has worked at Ferrari this season, and his place at Haas is believed to have been helped by his association with the Italian team which is supplying engines and other technical input to the new outfit.

Having raced for Sauber for two seasons, Gutierrez lost his race seat at the end of last year as the Swiss outfit opted for Felipe Nasr and Marcus Ericsson instead.

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HAMILTON: IT IS LIKE I AM PLAYING WITH A RATTLESNAKE.

Lewis Hamilton entertained the fans with a waving appearance on the pit-wall in the rain and then compared racing in severe wet conditions to playing with a rattlesnake on Saturday.

As storm clouds continued to deliver a downpour over the Circuit of the Americas -– forcing three successive delays to qualifying for the United States Grand Prix -– the defending two-time champion grabbed an umbrella and surprised the drenched spectators.

The 30-year-old Briton did little to suggest he was trying to emulate Hollywood star Gene Kelly, but his gesture was appreciated and immediately drew an ad-hoc media audience.

“It’s real shame for all these people here in the rain, but you just cant mess with Mother Nature,” Hamilton told reporters.

“It was great out there in the car, and I loved it. I always loved driving in the rain –- I grew up doing that in the UK, driving in the rain all the time.”

Hamilton’s example led to more outbreaks of spontaneous pit lane fun with teams building boat-like creations to tackle the puddles, some practicing their football juggling skills and other drivers waltzing and jiving.

Red Bull duo, Daniel Ricciardo and Daniil Kvyat joining in what looked like a slow rock and roll dance to the fans’ delight.

Asked what it was like to deliver such speed and precision in treacherous conditions, Hamilton explained: “You know it is snapping all the time and I am feeling ‘whoooh’ this is great and it is like I am playing with a rattlesnake.

“You know it is like how close you can get to it before it bites, so you are driving right to the edge, before it snaps away from you. It is an amazing feeling.”

Hamilton, who can wrap up his third world title with a third win in four visits to Texas in Sunday’s race, said he felt no stress in advance of the showdown.

“Obviously, I care about it, I have been working all my life for this, and if it happens here it will be amazing, but I know I have a lot of great competition,” said the Mercedes star.

“But my goal is to cross the line as champion in Abu Dhabi and I haven’t been thinking of doing this with four races to go. I just want to win it by the end of the year.”

In a supremely relaxed mood, Hamilton larked with television crews and rival teams in the teeming rain and dismissed thoughts of breaking records and emulating great British heroes.

“I’ve never been one to chase titles and wins in terms of the records,” he said. “I am not always looking at the other guys like that.”

“I am completely different, but I respect everyone’s achievements and honestly just feel it is awesome to be doing something that Ayrton Senna achieved.

“I don’t care about the rest because it was only Ayrton for me as a driver, when I was a kid. It would be really neat to equal and join the other great British drivers -– it is great to have most wins and to be putting some stakes down with my name on them.

“I feel very proud like that and for my family. I hope that there will be other great British drivers and I am sure there will be because we seem to breed them to be successful.”

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RED BULL CONFIRM WORK ON 2016 F1 CAR PUSHING AHEAD

Red Bull has denied that it will now run out of time to get a car – the RB12 – ready to race in the 2016 Formula 1 world championship.

The former world champions’ engine supply crisis has dragged on for so long that even in Bernie Ecclestone’s opinion, “They will be in trouble whatever engine they get because of the timing.”

But Paul Monaghan, Red Bull’s chief engineer, disagrees. He said that notwithstanding the political crisis, work on the RB12 is pushing ahead, as even though the engine supplier is still unknown “large parts of the car design are fixed already”.

As for the bits relevant to the specific specifications of the engine, “We just have to be patient,” he is quoted by Speed Week. “But with regard to the dimensions and the cooling, the power units do not differ that greatly from one another. So this is a challenge that we should be able to do.”

He also explained that the RB12 is fundamentally “a development of this year’s car”, so the overall “design concept” is not changing.

And the actual exterior of the car is “all about aerodynamics”, said Monaghan, adding that work on computational fluid dynamics and in the wind tunnel is proceeding as normal.

“Our biggest advantage as a team is the skills of the staff who work with passion and dedication, allowing us to always keep to a very tight development plan,” he said.

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RENAULT YET TO DECIDE ON LOTUS BUYOUT REVEALS ECCLESTONE

As a U-turn on the Red Bull-Renault alliance now appears possible, it could be Lotus that is the team left without an engine to fire uo beyond the 2015 season.

At one point, the Enstone team looked to have not one but two ‘power units’ for 2016: an existing contract with Mercedes, and an incoming Renault as the French carmaker completes its buyout negotiations.

In the meantime, Mercedes has switched its focus from Lotus to Manor, declaring that it does not have the capacity to add a fifth team next year. And the ‘Will Renault buy Lotus?’ saga races on.

Renault has signed its famous ‘letter of intent’, but Bernie Ecclestone admitted in Austin: “They have not taken a decision yet.”

And he suggested Carlos Ghosn, the Renault CEO, is not prepared to say yes or no until December, by which time it could be too late for any side to act upon that decision.

So it seems that Lotus is laying the asphalt for two roads: one with Renault, and one without.

“We are trying to plot a course through the turbulent times we’re in at the moment, the best way that we can,” admitted Lotus CEO Matthew Carter.

A big hint that Lotus perhaps expects the Renault deal to fall through is the now-confirmed full driver lineup for 2016.

While Pastor Maldonado is a one-time race winner and Jolyon Palmer the 2014 GP2 champion, the pair might also aptly be described as ‘pay drivers’.

Sport Bild said Briton Palmer, the son of former F1 driver Dr Jonathan, is bringing no less than EUR 10 million to his 2016 race seat.

Another rumour is that Palmer has already paid the first instalment for 2016, which would explain why Lotus is suddenly no longer locked out of its hospitality areas at flyaway grands prix.

But if Renault is planning a fully-fledged works team with a Mercedes-like budget, the now-confirmed driver lineup does not appear to fit.

“With his unparalleled combination of talent, youth and experience, Kevin Magnussen was the obvious choice for Lotus,” said F1 correspondent Peter Nygaard, writing for the Danish newspaper BT.

“For most people in the paddock, the decision to go with Palmer is incomprehensible.”

It also leaves the new GP2 champion, Stoffel Vandoorne, without a F1 debut, which according to his GP2 boss Frederic Vasseur “is another sign that F1 is more and more about money and less and less about talent”.

Indeed, Palmer-Maldonado makes much more sense in the context that Red Bull and Renault are staying together, and struggling Lotus is being left with its black and gold livery.

Ecclestone said: “Lotus has an entry so they can go ahead without Renault. All they need is an engine.”

24-year-old Palmer also admitted in Austin that, although now with a contract under his arm, he is not sure what is going to happen.

“I don’t really know inside the minds of the Renault bosses or the shareholders here, whether even if Renault doesn’t happen they’ve something else in their mind,” he is quoted by the Telegraph.

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AUSTIN QUALIFYING: ROSBERG TOPS IN SHORTENED SESSION

Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg took his 19th career pole position when he claimed top spot on the timing screens at the end of qualifying for the United States Grand Prix, in wet and tricky conditions which forced officials to end proceedings after Q2.

In the aftermath of a very wet Friday, rain continued to fall relentlessly over Circuit of the Americas but it was deemed safe enough to unleash the field for qualifying at 09:00 am local time.

At this point Rosberg was fastest, with teammate Lewis Hamilton second best and thus setting the scene for another shootout between the pair.

Nico Rosberg said afterwards, “I’m very happy with that pole – especially as I did my quickest lap on used tyres. I wanted to be prepared for Q3 with a new set of full wets but, of course, that opportunity never came up as the rain increased suddenly and they had to abandon qualifying.”

“It was very tricky out there with a lot of water on the track, so let’s see what happens this afternoon with the weather. The car feels very strong and I’m feeling great around here in any conditions, so I really look forward to the race,” added Rosberg.

With a third title looming, Lewis Hamilton was equally upbeat, “It was a generally a good qualifying session for me. I was looking to go out again at the end but then the rain came down heavier and of course Q3 was cancelled altogether. Its was wetter at Turn 10 than everywhere else with loads of aquaplaning.”

“We could maybe have gone out and seen if the track would dry up a bit – but it was incredibly tricky out there and you need to be very sensible in such situations. You’re on tip-toes in these conditions and really you just have to try to keep going and bring the car round,” revealed Hamilton.

“I’m happy for the team to get the 1-2 and, as always, qualifying is just the beginning. The race will be long, long battle if the conditions stay like this,”added the reigning F1 world champion.

Behind the Silver Arrows pair Daniel Ricciardo and Daniil Kvyat chased hard – the Red Bull duo ending the session third and fourth respectively and suggesting that the RB10 may well be capable of snatching a win. Ricciardo had topped the timing screens in Q1…

Fifth fastest was Sebastian Vettel who slammed the Armco with his Ferrari during Q1, but damage was limited and he was able to resume. Teammate Kimi Raikkonen was eighth.

Next up, in fifth and sixth, were Sergio Perez and Nico Hulkenberg, the Force India looking pretty handy in the prevailing conditions.

Felipe Massa was ninth in the Williams, ahead of teenage rookie Max Verstappen in the Toro Rosso. The Dutchman never having raced at the venue before was again impressive. His teammate Carlos Sainz crashed out early in the session.

Further illustrating how tricky things were out on track was the fact ten drivers spun in Turn 10 alone. Just before the start of Q3 the rain was harder and officials decided to curtail the session. Both the Mercedes cars were out of their pit boxes at this point and had to be pushed back.

Jenson Button who qualified his McLaren 14th summed up the situation before the session was halted, “Halfway through [Q2] it was way too wet. The problem is you don’t know where the aquaplaning is. The last couple of laps I was cruising around – I was floating. I hope the delay is for a good while because you can’t have them going out.”

Food for thought ahead of the race in Texas:

• Rosberg has a third consecutive pole and Mercedes have a 12th front-row lockout of the season.
• Rosberg has converted two of his last nine poles into wins.
• Hamilton’s two previous victories in Austin came from second on the grid.

MIKA: The weather's been crazy so I missed Qualy as well as race, just watched last half hour at work, Hamilton wins his 3rd WDC with Rosberg second, Vettel 3rd. Will post more later

I'm a Rosberg fan but he's lack of interaction and hostility on the podium is a little embarrassing. Yes, it's a race, but he should be more of a sportsman toward his team mate. He had no chance to catch Hamilton with the remaining races anyway.

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Lewis Hamilton clinches 2015 F1 world title

Lewis Hamilton has been crowned Formula 1 World Champion for a third time after successfully putting the 2015 F1 title out of Sebastian Vettel and Nico Rosberg's reach by winning a thrilling and unpredictable United States Grand Prix.

The Mercedes driver came into the Texas event needing to swell his championship lead to 75 points over Vettel and Rosberg in order to be crowned world champion once again, with the Mercedes driver successfully achieving his objective by prevailing in an enthralling race in Austin.

A third world title for the 30 year-old, adding to his successes in 2008 and 2014, Hamilton becomes the first British driver to successfully defend his crown and joins an exclusive group of just ten drivers to win three championships

His most comprehensive title-winning campaign yet, though Hamilton's route to the top in 2015 has been assisted by the continued dominance of his Mercedes AMG package, the Briton has nonetheless often demonstrated a significant edge over the competition, scoring ten wins, 15 podiums and 11 pole positions in 16 races, with three rounds still remaining.

Indeed, having engaged in a fierce – and at times tumultuous – tussle with team-mate Rosberg in 2014, Hamilton has exerted a firm control over this year's championship, finishing behind the German on the road just three times this year.

Having won the season opener in Australia, Hamilton hasn't been headed once in the overall standings this year, his subsequent successes in China, Bahrain, Canada, Great Britain, Belgium, Italy, Japan and Russia enabling him to bring the title battle to an early conclusion with races in Mexico, Brazil and Abu Dhabi remaining.

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UNITED STATES GP: ROSBERG ERROR HANDS HAMILTON WIN AND TITLE

Lewis Hamilton benefited from an error made by Mercedes teammate and title rival Nico Rosberg which resulted in the Briton winning his third United States Grand Prix and with it wrapped up his third Formula 1 world title with three races still to run this season.

The win, Hamilton’s 10th of the season, puts him on 327 points in the championship, 76 points ahead of nearest challenger Sebastian Vettel. With a maximum 75 points on offer from the final three rounds, Hamilton cannot be overtaken in the standings.

Hamilton joins a list of three-time champions that includes Jack Brabham, Sir Jackie Stewart, Niki Lauda, Nelson Piquet and Aytron Senna.

A delighted Hamilton told Elton John on the podium, “I want to say a huge thank you to the crowd, staying out through the rain. Hopefully we put on a good show for you. I can’t find the words to explain how this feels. I couldn’t have done it without this team. I love you guys and everything you do for me. For all my family, I love you all.”

With little track action in the build-up to the race due to weather conditions, F1 fans were treated to an enthralling race, including a first turn melee and thereafter packed with action, along with twists and turns throughout the afternoon, plus two Safety Car deployments and a couple of Virtual Safety Car periods thrown in to spice things up even more.

No one really took control of proceedings in a race that was an emotional roller-coster, although Hamilton did manage to make a strong start and muscled Rosberg off the road exiting Turn 1, which led to the German dropping down to fourth as the Red Bull pair of Daniel Ricciardo and Daniil Kvyat showed excellent pace in the slippery conditions, on the damp track with intermediates bolted on.

Ricciardo leading by six seconds at one stage and Kvyat challenging Hamilton early on, but by the end of the race Ricciardo was down in tenth while Kvyat made a mistake which saw his race end in the wall.

Once the track dried and slicks were on the Red Bull challenge faded and Sebastian Vettel entered the picture, while Rosberg made a good call during a safety car period which saw him assume the lead. While leading he made a mistake which ultimately cost him dearly and handed victory to Hamilton.

Vettel tried gamely to overhaul Rosberg in the final stages, to keep the title fight alive (at least until Mexico) but that came to naught as the Ferrari driver had to settle for third. And thus once the maths was done Hamilton had secured his third title, his second in succession.

Clearly aggrieved and angry Rosberg said, “I’m very disappointed. Unbelievable really. I don’t know what happened. You (the crowd) have been awesome with the bad weather. I’m just very disappointed.”

“Very aggressive, extremely aggressive. We hit each other or I should say Lewis came into me, so that’s not good,” added Rosberg when asked about the Turn 1 incident with Hamilton.

Fourth place went to Toro Rosso rookie Max Verstappen who once again shone brightly as he went toe-to-toe comfortably with the best in the business.

United States Grand Prix Race Report

At the start Hamilton made a better getaway than Rosberg ands the pair went into Turn One side by side. Hamilton held hard to his line and the pair banged wheels. The collision sent Rosberg wide and that allowed Kvyat to leap through past Ricciardo and Rosberg into second place. Ricciardo also stole through to demote Rosberg further.

Further back there was incident involving seventh on the grid Felipe Massa and Fernando Alonso, who started ninth. The chaos saw several drivers profit, with Sebastian Vettel climbing to seventh by the end of lap one from 13th on the grid, Raikkonen rising to 10th from 18th and Carlos Sainz jumping to 11th after starting in last place. Elsewhere, the two Saubers clashed, with Nasr losing his front wing and scattering debris across the track at Turn One.

At the front Hamilton was being pressured by Kvyat but the Russian overcooked a move into Turn One and went wide, which gave the Mercedes man some breathing space.

It was Kvyat’s last attempt. With debris still on track the Virtual Safety Car was deployed on lap five. The order at this point was Hamilton, followed by Kvyat, Ricciardo, Rosberg, Force India’s Perez, Vettel, Toro Rosso’s Max Verstappen, Raikkonen, Sainz and Nico Hulkenberg in the second Force India.

When the VSC was removed Rosberg was the most alert. Hamilton held his lead from Kvyat but Rosberg caught Ricciardo napping and powered past the Australian through the ‘Esses’ to take third. He was soon all over the back of Kvyat and used his Mercedes’ greater power to breeze past the Russian to resume the grid order.

On seasonal form that should have been that, but in the conditions the Mercedes were unable to pull away from the Red Bulls and Kvyat again attacked Rosberg at the end of lap 112. He again ran wide though and that allowed Ricciardo to sneak past. And with the aid of DRS the Australian then passed Rosberg through Turn One on lap 13.

Further back there were equally big battles developing. Perez and Vettel were stable in fourth and fifth but the battle for sixth was intense with Verstappen holding off Raikkonen and Sainz. Raikkonen eventually got past Sainz on lap 15 and began to pressure Verstappen.

At the front the order was changing again and when Hamilton couldn’t hold a tight line through long right hander towards the end of the lap, Ricciardo held his nerve and exercised impressive car control to take the inside line and the lead.

The Australian then began to build a lead and by lap 18 he was 3.9s ahead of the championship leader.

Hamilton’s times were flagging on his degrading tyres and he was running 1.3s slower than Ricciardo and the Briton was passed on lap 18 by Rosberg and as Kvyat clambered all over the back of his car, Mercedes opted to pit the title leader for soft tyres.

Ricciardo, Rosberg and third-placed Kvyat reacted and pitted on lap 19 for soft tyres, with Ricciardo resuming in the lead ahead of the German and the Russian. Hamilton was now fourth.

The rest of the field had also pitted by this point for slicks but the track was still proving difficult and Raikkonen went off at the left-hander at the bottom of the esses, He hit the barriers but managed to drive his way out from the tyre wall and rejoined in 15th.

At the front the positions were changing again and this time it was the Red Bulls being passed, with Rosberg stealing the lead from Ricciardo and Hamilton stealing third from Kvyat.

Rosberg was told to build a lead and armed with soft tyres on a drying track, the German obliged. By lap 24 Rosberg was 3.6s ahead of Ricciardo. Hamilton, meanwhile, was now three seconds adrift of the Australian. Kvyat though had dropped to fifth, the Russian running out of grip in turn one and allowing the hard-charging Vettel to brush past on the inside.

Mercedes’ pace in this phase of the race was simply too great for the Red Bulls and on lap 27 Hamilton breezed past Ricciardo to take second place. He was now 10.5s behind his team-mate.

Raikkonen, meanwhile, was forced to retire, his engineer informing him that brush with the wall had damaged the front right of his car and his brake temperatures on that side were “through the roof”.

Marcus Ericsson was also in trouble and later in lap 27 the Swede pulled over at the edge of the track with a loss of power.

The position of the Sauber led to the Safety Car being deployed. The top three, Rosberg, Hamilton and Ricciardo, stayed out, but fourth placed Vettel pitted for medium tyres, promoting Kvyat back up the order. Hulkenberg, Sainz, Perez and Button also pitted. The McLaren driver opted to stay on softs, while the others switched to medium tyres.

The order under the safety car was Rosberg ahead of Hamilton, with Ricciardo third ahead of Kvyat, who had all stopped once. Then came Vettel, Verstappen, Hulkenberg, Perez, Button and Sainz, all of whom had stopped twice.

The Safety Car left the track at the end of lap 32 with Rosberg having back the field right up. The German then strode away from Hamilton to keep his lead.

Vettel was the big profiteer on the restart. He forced Kvyat into an error and slipped past the Russian with ease and then a lap later mugged Ricciardo.

The Red Bulls, on older tyres, were now fair game and Verstappen and Hulkenberg forced his way past Kvyat, who dropped to seventh. Verstappen then passed Ricciardo for fourth place on lap 35.

Hulkenberg was now pressuring Ricciardo but it ended badly for the German. The Force India driver tried to pass the Australian on the inside at Turn 12 but he lost control and collided with the Red Bull. It ended Hulkenberg’s race but Ricciardo carried on, though with damage enough that Kvyat was able to pass him.

Hulkenberg’s car had come to rest at the edge of the track and the VSC was again briefly deployed. Rosberg took the opportunity to pit, as did Kvyat and Ricciardo.

Hamilton, who had stopped just once, now led from Vettel and Verstappen, with Rosberg now fourth on soft tyres ahead of Button, Perez, Alonso, Sainz, Maldonado, Kvyat and Ricciardo.

Rosberg was soon up to third, passing Verstappen on lap 40, and he was soon in second, comfortably making his way past Vettel on lap 42. Hamilton was now just six seconds up the road.

The real Safety Car was soon in action again. Kvyat crashed out at the end of lap 43 at Turn 20 and that afforded Hamilton and Vettel a free pit stop, with both drivers taking on soft tyres. The order under the safety car was Rosberg, Hamilton, Verstappen, Vettel, Alonso, Perez, Ricciardo, Button, Maldonado and Sainz.

Rosberg held his lead on the restart. The German’s tyres were five laps older than Hamilton. Behind them Vettel passed Vertsappen to take third place.

Hamilton began to close on his team-mate but on lap 48 Rosberg did the work for his team-mate. The German went off line on the exit of Turn 12 and Hamilton was through into a lead he would not let go of and eight laps later the Briton crossed the 2.8s ahead of his team-mate to claim the race win and his third world championship title, described by Hamilton over team radio as “the greatest moment of my life”.

Rosberg was second ahead of Vettel, with Verstappen fourth. Perez took fifth place ahead of Button and Sainz, with Maldonado eighth ahead of Nasr and Ricciardo.

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Hamilton: Greatest moment of my life

Lewis Hamilton has hailed his "faultless" Mercedes W06 after racing his way to a third Drivers' Championship title with a victory in the United States.

While many of Hamilton's race wins this season have been dominant displays, this Sunday he was made to work for it. The Brit not only had to fight with Red Bulls on the intermediate tyres in the early stages but he then had to fight his team-mate Nico Rosberg on the slicks.

It initially appeared as if Rosberg was going to win the day but an off-track excursion cost him as Hamilton shot through into the lead. He held on to win the grand prix, his third at the Circuit of the Americas, by 2.8s ahead of his team-mate.

Hamilton moved onto 327 points in the standings, 76 ahead of second placed Sebastian Vettel, which means he is the 2015 F1 World Champion.

"This is the greatest moment of my life," an emotional Hamilton said over the team radio after crossing the line.

He later said: "Amazing! I want to say a huge thank you to the whole crowd for coming out and standing through the rain and staying with us. I hope we put a good show on for you today.

"But I can't really find the right words this second to tell you how amazing this feels.

"I could not have done it without this team who have powered me throughout the last three years and have really taken me on board and helped nurture me and with a car that is just faultless. I love you guys. Thank you so much for all you do for me and all the guys back home.

"And then my family who are watching, I love you all. And team LH, still I rise."

But in a race where Hamilton didn't have it all his own way, the 30-year-old revealed there was a point where he thought it wasn't going to happen today.

"I'd fallen back, Nico pitted under the Safety Car, and he was really quick at one stage. But I never for one second believed that I couldn't do it.

"And we pushed, Nico drove a fantastic race, really he has done – since I've been with this team he's been driving fantastically well so mad respect for him as my team-mate.

"And otherwise, as I said, just a very humbling experience, especially to equal Ayrton Senna, who meant so much to me and still does today. So I feel very blessed today."

In winning his third title Hamilton equalled Sir Jackie Stewart as Britain's only three-time World Champ. He also matched boyhood hero Ayrton Senna's tally.

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Ricciardo: It was a crazy race

He may have finished the United States GP empty-handed, but Daniel Ricciardo had plenty of fun during the early stages of the race.

Having started third on the grid behind the Mercedes duo of Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton, Ricciardo as well as his Red Bull team-mate Daniil Kvyat made a good start and were ahead of Rosberg after lap 1.

There were several positional changes, but Ricciardo passed Hamilton at Turn 18 on lap 16, but Rosberg regained the lead from the Australian on lap 22 and sadly it was all downhill from there for him.

He couldn't find any pace in the slicks while he also made contact with Nico Hulkenberg, which left his car with some damage, and he eventually finished P11.

"The beginning was really fun between both Mercs and both Red Bulls," Ricciardo said. "It was a good four-way battle. To see the Mercs not getting away from us was awesome. I was enjoying that. In the lead we were quite quick for a few laps and it felt like old times.

"That obviously didn’t last long and once we put the slicks on we just didn’t have the pace. We struggled with the warm up with the tyres and also struggled a lot with braking today.

"It was so tricky in the dry and then obviously there were the collisions with Hulkenberg and Carlos [sainz]. It went downhill from then on. Even though we were on slicks it was never really dry out there.

"The kerbs were slippery and there was still a bit of a puddle through Turns 9 and 10, so it was definitely tricky. Dany spun off just in front of me on to the astroturf and into the wall. It was a crazy race and I hope the fans enjoyed it as it was quite action packed."

[MIKA27]

Proud Rossi just missed out on amazing result

Alexander Rossi nearly pulled off a miracle at his maiden home race as he equalled Manor's best finish of the 2015 season at the United States GP.

He made his Formula 1 debut at the Singapore GP, but Sunday’s race in Texas was always the one he was looking forward to as he became the first American since Scott Speed in 2007 to make the grid on home soil.

Having started the race in 17th place, Rossi produced a solid display in front of his home fans and with eight cars retiring, he managed to finish P12, which matched Roberto Merhi's P12 at Silverstone.

"When you see P10 and P11 on pit board, getting towards the end of the race, you want it really bad," he told NBCSN. "But nonetheless a really good result for the team. Shame for Will [stevens, who retired early]. It’s a very positive end to a great weekend.

"I was fighting with Felipe Nasr for a few laps. It was nice to race a car! I thought we could maybe pull something off. In the end, we were just missing the ultimate pace.

"It’s been an amazing week. So proud to be here. In the end, a great show for the fans on a Sunday. Difficult because of the weather, but positive reception all around, [helps] grow the profile in the States."

[MIKA27]

Button was hoping for a bit more pace

He scored some solid points at the United States GP, but Jenson Button admits he thought McLaren would be a bit faster.

Button started Sunday's race at the Circuit of the Americas in 11th place while his team-mate Fernando Alonso, who ran an upgraded Honda engine, was two places ahead of him on the grid.

Both found themselves inside the top 10 for most of the race and, although Alonso failed to score any points after he suffered a loss of power late on, Button managed to finish sixth, which is his best position of a miserable 2015 season.

However, both McLarens were unable to keep up with the likes of Max Verstappen and Carlos Sainz from Toro Rosso and the 2009 World Champion says he was hoping the MP4-30 would have a bit more speed.

"Our pace was nowhere near what we expected here," he is quoted as saying by Motorsport.com. "So compared to like Toro Rosso, they were so much faster, a lot faster than I expected round here, and especially in the mid-high speed corners I thought we'd be stronger, but we are not.

"So we need to look away and look at why. A tough day, but I'm happy to get sixth place.

"I think we did a good job with that, but apart from that, the pace of the car was not that exciting."

Alonso was forced to make an early stop after picking up a puncture at the start, but he recovered to fifth before he lost power.

"We would have finished fifth and it would have been one of the best races of my career," the Spaniard said. "And I'm still considering it that, but with a result out of the points.

"I leave with the feeling of having done my best race in several years and hopefully I can repeat it in the three that we have left."

[MIKA27]

Hulkenberg cleared over Ricciardo accident

The United States Grand Prix stewards have decided no further action was needed over the clash between Nico Hulkenberg and Daniel Ricciardo during the race.

Hulkenberg was forced to retire from the Austin event on lap 42 after making contact with Ricciardo's Red Bull when he dove down the inside at Turn 12.

The Australian managed to continue, but Hulkenberg's Force India was too damaged to carry on.

After the race, the stewards found Hulkenberg was unable to slow down his car down sufficiently because of a front wing failure, and deemed no further action was necessary.

Ricciardo went on to finish in 10th to grab the final point.

"We were looking really good and I wanted to get past Daniel [Ricciardo] as I was faster than him and he was holding me up, so I tried to make a move," said Hulkenberg.

"Unfortunately that didn't work and it was the end of my race.

"When I got back to the garage the team told me that there was an issue with the front wing – from contact earlier in the race – and it broke just when I was trying to make the move on Daniel.

"It's a shame as we could have scored a lot of points today."

[MIKA27]

Raikkonen blames rules, not Verstappen, for radio anger

Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen has said he wasn’t criticizing Max Verstappen following their early-race clash in the US Grand Prix at Austin, but that his angry radio message was directed at the stewards instead.

Verstappen, who went on to finish fourth, banged wheels with Raikkonen at Turn 12 as the Finn attempted to pass him around the outside.

Raikkonen said on the radio: “That guy keeps pushing me off the circuit every time, if that’s legal I will do the same next time.”

After the race, Raikkonen claimed he said this because he wants the specific rules clarifying on when it's necessary to leave rivals a car’s width on the track.

“I just wanted to ask if it’s OK, when you are next to another car, and they try to defend the inside and you go round the outside, and at some point at the exit of the corner you’re allowed to push the car onto the kerbs,” said Raikkonen. “If that’s fine, I want to ask if it’s OK, but apparently it is fine. That’s OK. As long as everybody has the same rules, I don’t mind.

“There’s so many rules these days in F1, there are rules that you should not move under braking, you should leave the other guy a car’s space when he’s next to you, is that under braking and not in the corner, it’s not leaving any space if you push the other guy wide – it’s fine.

“I don’t complain he’s doing something wrong, but as long as it’s fine always, and different next time, when you do it to somebody the same way and get penalized. That’s not right.

“I don’t complain about what he did this time, but they should be more clear for everybody so we can know what we can do.

“I think we touched once, just slightly, it’s fine and it’s racing in the end. It was very close.”

Crash was “my mistake”

Raikkonen admitted the crash that ultimately led to his exit with overheating brakes was his fault.

“It was quite slippery there, and I didn’t see a little bit of water, and I lost the rear,” he said. “I tried to turn, and thought it would be OK to hit the wall sideways, but the front got stuck on the advertising board, so I tried to work with the steering wheel to get the board off the wheel.

“I think we had a flat front, maybe flat rear too, and they had to pull the right-front brake duct out. That meant the front brakes overheated and we had to stop.

“My mistake, which was an unfortunate thing as we had good pace. The car worked pretty well in those conditions. Even with the damage, it felt good. Not an ideal end.”

[MIKA27]

US GP: Post-race press conference

Lewis Hamilton, Nico Rosberg, Sebastian Vettel.

PODIUM INTERVIEWS

(Conducted by Sir Elton John)

Lewis, amazing. For me to be English and to be here today is an amazing feeling. Congratulations on everything.

Lewis HAMILTON: I can’t believe you're here. It’s Elton John!

No, there you go, I am! What a wonderful crowd, what a great support, you guys – thank you. What a race! How are you feeling?

LH: Amazing! Firstly, thank you so much for coming up here today and being here. I want to say a huge thank you to the whole crowd, for coming out and staying through the rain and staying with us. I hope we put on a good show for you today. But I can’t really find the right words right this second to tell you how amazing this feels. I couldn't have done it without this team who have empowered me for the last three years and really taken me on board and really helped nurture me with the car and just faultless. I love you guys, thank you so much for everything you do for me. And all the guys back at home. And then, my family who are watching. I love you all. And team LH – still I rise.

Nico, congratulations, but you must be disappointed though right?

Nico Rosberg: yeah, for sure, very disappointed with that, unbelievable. I don’t know what happened. But anyway, you’ve been great. Thank you so much, you’ve been awesome this weekend, with all this bad weather… to come out here so numerously, thanks a lot for that. Yeah, just very disappointed.

Sebastian, you started off 14th [13th] on the grid – congratulations – and finished third. You drove an amazing race. And at one point you were going faster than anyone else. Does that give you encouragement for the rest of the grands prix and for next season?

Sebastian VETTEL: Yeah, it does. We have a great car; we have exceeded all expectations. But yeah, it doesn’t feel great when you cross the line and you know that you can’t fight for the championship anymore, so congratulations to Lewis, he did a superb job all year round. Congratulations to his team as well, but we are getting closer and hopefully next year we can give them a very, very hard time.

I think you are getting closer and it’s going to be very exciting, congratulations. And Lewis, celebrations tonight?

LH: Are you throwing a party?

I’m going to party; I’m playing tonight later.

LH: I’m going to be here, I wouldn’t miss it for the world.

PRESS CONFERENCE

Lewis, many congratulations, a classic grand prix, one of those days when you’re up, you’re down, you’re never quite sure which way it’s all going to end. I’m sure for you personally a day of great emotion, given the journey you’ve made and I guess the best way to sum it up is: is this a boyhood dream fulfilled?

LH: It really is. I’m just overwhelmed at the moment. It’s difficult really to find the words. I’m just sitting here thinking about… I remember my first British championship where my dad and I drove home singing ‘We are the Champions’ – at the time of Great Britain – and you know it’s just crazy to think that now I’m a three-time Formula One world champion. I owe it all to my dad, to my family who supported me all these years and sacrificed so much for me to be here. And then the really positive energy I get from my fans who travel around the world to see, that is, I get messages… I really do realise that whilst I get to enjoy driving a Formula One car this is really a platform for me to inspire young people and I hope that if there is any inspiring from today it’s just that: never give up on your dreams, on your hopes and on your desires. Just keep working at it. Today, there were so many times I thought I’d lost the race. I’d fallen back and then Nico pitted under the safety car and he was really quick at one stage but I never for one second believed that I couldn’t second and then we pushed and pushed… You know, Nico drove a fantastic race, he really has done…. since I’ve been with this team he’s been driving fantastic well. So mad respect for him as my team-mate and otherwise, as I said, a very humbling experience, especially to equal Ayrton Senna who meant so much to me and still does today. So, yeah, I feel very, very blessed today.

Very well done. Nico, as we said, a crazy race. You seemed to have the advantage when you went onto slick tyres initially and then at restarts and after stops you seemed to have great performance in that condition, you seemed to have the race under control. But it looks like one slip got it away from you. Tell us about that but also about the start.

NR: Yeah, I just got wheelspin. It’s never happened to me, ever. Not even in testing or racing, never, ever something like that. I can’t explain it; it’s unbelievable. I don’t know. Just need to look into it afterwards but obviously that was really, really tough at the time, to lose the lead like that and to lose the win, because I was feeling really good at that point and it just went wrong. Turn One for sure was very aggressive… What am I going to say? I haven’t seen it again, so how the hell… I can’t comment yet. I need to see it, as always. For sure it was extremely aggressive, we hit each other, or I would say Lewis came into me, so obviously that’s not good. I can’t say more than that.

Thanks for that. Sebastian, this is one of those races… I’ve seen you sitting here and I can tell you’re thinking about all the things you’ve been through in the last few hours. There’s so much to go through and analyse and understand from a race like that, but basically you took a gamble at the safety car to go onto the medium tyres, intending to go to the finish, and it looked like it might work, except that then there was another Virtual Safety Car and then another Safety Car. Did you believe it was one and that without those two events you might have won this grand prix? Were you feeling good about your gamble?

SV: Yeah, I think it was the right thing to do, given where we were, given that we wanted to make our chance last as long as possible and I think there was a chance definitely to do it. Obviously when the safety car came that was gone, because we’ve seen that with the option tyre everyone one of us was in the same boat with a lot of graining. First laps amazing and then the laps after that falling off quite dramatically. With a green track that’s what happens. So I think I had a good chance. Already after four or five laps on the medium tyre, six laps, I don’t know how much it was, I was doing more or less the same pace as the guys in front. A shame to lose out, but on the other hand in a race like this I think all three of us in a way at some point in the race we got lucky with timings, because it can also work against you. But yeah, a bit mixed. Thinking a lot about the season, what we could have done better here and there to squeeze even more out. I think we did a fantastic job, much better than everyone expected, but still it’s not great when you lose the fight for the world championship. But, as I said, this is Lewis’ day, congrats to him, he deserves to win the championship. The race we had, there’s not much to add. It was every exciting – I started 14th, had an average start and then we had a very, very good opening lap and after that we did the right things. Amazing pace when we switched to dry tyres, closing to the field. And then I think it was very close with Nico in the end but not close enough, so that was it.

QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

Q: (Dan Knutson – Honorary) For Lewis and Seb. You’ve both won multiple world championships – but what does it signify for any driver to win even one world championship? What does it mean?

SV: It’s your day…

LH: For any driver I think it’s the pinnacle. There’s no further you can go. Your ultimate goal is to win in everything you compete in. It’s to perform at your best and hopefully better than everyone else, so when you do win a world championship it signifies at that particular time your greatness and the people around you. The whole unit. The teamwork. The greatness of that partnership as well. I remember when I got my first one. I was just grateful for the first one. I told Ron when I was ten that I wanted to be world champion in his car and it’s kinda crazy to think that ten years after he signed me I was. Yeah.

SV: One thing is to be able to perform on that level, that’s a big achievement already if you’re in a position to be able to win races. Then obviously if you can crown that with winning the championship… it’s very difficult to describe. I think the first championship is probably the most powerful. But then it’s not like you have a head start for the next year’s. It all starts from zero again. In the end I think you have something inside you that drives you to keep doing it. As long as you have that hunger, you’re into probably fight for it again. And if you manage to do it more than one time, obviously that’s a big bonus. So, it’s an incredible feeling. And that’s why I can only underline, this is Lewis’ day and obviously I’ve been in his seat before. It’s a great feeling. Especially the nights after you win the championship. They’re quite good!

…but you have to be generous buying everybody drinks.

LH: No problem man! No problem.

Q: (Seff Harding – Xiro Xone Radio) This question’s for Lewis, first off, congratulations for winning the championship – and thanks for winning it here in the US. Last year when you won this championship you talked about the Hamilton legacy and what you’re doing, what your brother’s doing. Now having won a third world championship, how does it feel continuing to add to that legacy?

LH: Yeah. As I said, I’m not the only one who’s been achieving great things in the family. Firstly my Dad, coming from nowhere, he never wanted his kids to struggle the way he did, so the effort that he put in was just remarkable. I’ve got my younger brother who’s seven years younger than me who’s one of the first disabled individuals to be racing cars and again his motivation is to inspire. He never wants anything coming off my success, he wants to do it all on his own, and he’s inspiring young kids also to exceed expectations – that’s his hashtag, #ExceedExpectations – and so hopefully I can be a mascot for my brother Nick. To be able to add to that, to know that our Hamilton name will be here past our lives. I’m super, super proud about it. And, as I said, while I’m standing here, and I’m here in front of the cameras, I’m a small kink in a much, much larger chain which is pretty strong.

Q: (Graham Harris – Motorsport Monday) Congratulations Lewis. Between Lewis and Sebastian you have seven world drivers’ titles, emulating Michael Schumacher. Question to both of you: do either of you ever see yourselves emulating Michael’s total or, if not, do you think it’s just not possible anymore?

SV: If we managed together it’s a good thing already! That’s how big Michael is.

LH: For Sebastian, being from the same country I think that would be, for sure, I would imagine, Sebastian’s target. As for me, as I said, it was always to get the three that Ayrton had. Of course, he wasn’t from the same country as me but he was the guy that inspired me as a youngster. Now I’m like… I don’t know where it’s going next. There is no-one else I look to, that I want to equal or emulate now. I’m just going to start… as I said one race ago or something like that, I feel like I’ve got the baton now for myself and Ayrton and I’m going to carry it as far as I can, as strong as I can and keep building and see where I take it.

Sebastian?

LH: I’m going to do everything to stop you getting seven, don’t worry!

SV: Yeah, you can try!

SV: To be honest, no, it’s not really part of my thinking. I think it’s because, the way I think of Michael is with massive respect for what he has achieved. He is my childhood hero. In many ways still my hero. Especially since the day I joined Ferrari – to know what he did with the team and what especially he did to be that successful makes me respect him even more. So, yeah, I don’t really want to go near… I think I’m very, very happy to be in the position that I am – and of course my target is to win the championship with Ferrari – but I haven’t, y’know put a number to it and I wouldn’t dare to think about equalising Michael.

Q: (Jonathan Green – Speed City Radio / COTA) Lewis, just go through the gamut of emotions you must be going through because this morning after qualifying – or the lack of – we almost had a washout here. There was hardly anybody here and then at the end the British flags, the American fans celebrating a world championship. It could have been so different. Just describe your emotions on that last lap.

LH: The last 10 – 15 laps were the tough ones. What an extraordinary race. I just started out well, very, very close obviously with Nico at the beginning and that wasn’t intentional, we both broke very deep into it and I understood he was on the outside and in the wet that’s where the grip is, so he was turning and I wasn’t turning so we touched. After that just fighting for position, trying to stay ahead. Emotions were just up and down through the race because at one point I was in the lead but I knew I didn’t have it in the car. I was struggling and sliding all over the place and then I fell to fourth and the track was drying and just the most… the trickiest conditions for us. And these guys were all driving fantastically well. And then, as I said, the last ten laps really… I was behind the Safety Car and think ‘OK, I’ve got ten laps, the world championship is right there – how am I going to get it?’ And then I was just head down, everything that I’ve got from all these years. Everything that I’ve built up, everything that I’ve learnt comes into this. This is the defining moment really. Of course I could have gone on to other races but for me, I’m kind of like ‘now!’ It’s so close that I could smell it. I was pushing and I was looking forward to a race with Nico of course. I had the same issue as he did. Obviously I didn’t go off but I had a similar issue of wheelspin at that one point where I was changing a switch out, that same corner, and nearly lost it so I understand and sympathise with him but the emotions… I just can’t believe it. Honestly, I really, really can’t believe. It’s very, very strange sitting here after nine years and I’m… it’s not even the end of the season yet and I can’t believe how well this year’s gone; how amazing my team has been. Sitting in front of you guys for, God knows how many times I’ve been up here, but it never gets old and I just feel incredibly grateful right now and extremely humbled and excited. I have no idea what I’m doing next. I’m going out of here, I know I have to stand in front of some cameras, I’m going to hug lots of people, I definitely need to have a drink after that race. Yeah, just continue to enjoy this life and the many blessings that are around me.

Q: (Kwane Lillard - Tennessee Tribune) Winning today in the US, will that encourage more excitement about Grand Prix racing in this country? And with the new team coming from Haas, will that excite more people about Grand Prix racing in the US?

LH: I hope so, I hope the more and more we come here, the more it excites people. It’s such an exciting sport and for some reason at this track we always have good races. I can only imagine that it was an exciting race for you guys to watch because I saw the screens a couple of times and it looked... for me it was one of the most exciting races that I’ve had for a while and yeah, while we only have one race here, we’ve had an amazing turn-out with lots of Americans, people from different parts of the world have come here to enjoy Austin to see the town, great food, great ambience, great atmosphere. So hopefully every single person that comes here will infect someone else here, particularly in the States, whether they’re going to the airport, through the petrol station or wherever it is: ‘hey, did you see the race? You should watch it.’ Hopefully one by one, by word of mouth, it will catch on because it is an incredible sport and I think today maybe was a good race? Yeah, today it was one of the best so that’s a great. This track really is amazing and it’s enabled us to race which is what we all want.

I feel like I’m trying to compete with Sebastian when for all those years he was up here, Nico or whoever was up here with me, sitting here and it was again it was your day so we just sat there and enjoyed it, so I’m trying to exceed the length of time you were talking back then.

SV: You’re still behind.

LH: Yeah, I think I’m still behind.

Q: (Ted Kravitz – Sky Sports) Nico, I just wanted to ask: did you seem to feel that something went wrong on the car that made you go off the track like that and I know emotions were high in the cool-down room but why did you throw the hat back at Lewis?

NR: No, for sure I’m not saying there was something wrong with the car. For now, I’m assuming that it’s a mistake that I made, just getting too much wheelspin, going away on the cold tyres, the tyres weren’t fully up to temperature yet but it felt very very strange and it has never happened to me before like that, so it really is something that I definitely want to look into and try and understand. And that was just some games so nothing much, nothing more into that.

Q: (Tony DiZinno – NBC Sports) Lewis, how different does it feel to clinch a World Championship with multiple races remaining as opposed to doing so in the final race of the season?

LH: To be honest, last year or the last two times obviously was really climatic in the last race. One was 17 seconds before the end of the race, I think it was something like that, and obviously last year it was amazing but it took a lot out of us, that race, because obviously it was double points, anything could have happened. This one still feels just as special, if not more special. I think this has to have topped last year for me, being as it’s equalling Ayrton, as I said before. Of course, I drive every year and I believe that I have the ability to win but with the way life goes, sometimes you have the luck with you, sometimes it’s not. Sometimes you have a good car, sometimes you don’t. I really didn’t think a few years ago that I would be sitting here. I thought that I would win championships at this team and as I said, that is why I moved here. It was never ‘I’m just going to take a chance.’ I don’t think I really... I did my due diligence and I believed it was the right choice. As a kid, I just wanted to be World Champion and so it’s kind of crazy to think that me and Ayrton, in terms of championships, stand on the same line which is just the greatest.

Q: (Kirk Bohls – Austin American-Statesman) Lewis, you mentioned the popularity of the sport, I’m curious, football is on a pedestal in this country. What can Formula One do to enhance the appeal for the population in the US?

LH: I really don’t know what we need to do. I think lots of brain-storming and really just conversation with perhaps new people’s ideas. I’m assuming – because I don’t really know who makes the decisions – that it’s a group of people who have been there for some time, so always introducing new blood and new ideas and interacting with – I think they should really interact with people here in the States and try and figure out whether there’s something... Because for some reason, whatever it is, the Americans put on the greatest shows, whether it’s music, sports, games, whether it be basketball, NFL, they have the best games, the atmosphere, the way they put on the show is just outstanding and there’s something definitely that Formula One can learn from that. So as I said, maybe we need to hire some new people, I don’t know, but any ideas you guys have... I speak to Bernie and he’s like ‘yeah, any ideas you have’ so...

Q: (Kirk Bohls – Austin American-Statesman) Will having an American team help?

LH: I don’t really know. I definitely think it will and having an American driver would be good but I think having more races here. It’s such a big country, I think we have to have more races here. There’s no reason why we shouldn’t have at least two races here, it’s such a big place.

Q: (Graham Harris – Motorsport Monday) Nico, this is the second time in two years that you’ve sat where you are sitting. You’ve beaten Lewis on a number of occasions, you’re in a winning car, where do you go next? Back to the planning board, what do you do for next year, where are you going to get your motivation from?

NR: I haven’t thought about that yet. I’m still in today and today’s a disappointment. I don’t know. What am I going to say to that? Whatever happens in the past doesn’t change me going forward. It’s always full attack, big push, that’s the way I am.

Q: (Christopher Joseph – Chicane) Lewis, you speak a lot about being inspired by Ayrton, not only as a childhood hero but in terms of driving style etc etc and he spoke often of the zone and being in that zone driving-wise. Over the past couple of years you seem to have gone into another zone, a more spiritual zone with your driving and your outside life. Do you feel that way now?

LH: Definitely. I think I’ve always had that but I think I express it a little bit more and I think having that freedom to be able to express myself in the way I want to and be who I want to be and who I am I think enables me to drive better than ever, than I have ever driven. It’s difficult to describe, the power that you feel from within, because it all comes from within in that belief and yeah, I think today is... I’m very very blessed to be able to do what I do and in the way I do it and to be here today, to have the experiences and opportunities that I’ve had in my life - you know, have my Dad stay around, good Mum, good friends. Yeah, very very very blessed.

Q: (Joseph D. Love - Tennessee Tribune) Once again I’d like to congratulate you on your third Formula One victory. You’ve broken all barriers...

LH: Would you just say that again? Sorry, I didn’t hear you!

Q: (Joseph D. Love - Tennessee Tribune) Congratulations, Lewis, on your third Formula One World Championship...

LH: Sounds good!

Q: (Joseph D. Love - Tennessee Tribune) Absolutely, absolutely. My question to you is: you’ve broken barriers, you done amazing things. Do you see yourself as a Formula One team owner in the future? Or as a musician?

LH: You know what, I don’t have any desires to be a team boss. I’ve witnessed great team bosses in Ron, in Martin Whitmarsh, in Ross Brawn and in Niki and Toto. And I think I will stick to what I do best. Would I like to be a part of a team in the future? I’m sure that at some stage when I stop I’m going to have massive withdrawal symptoms because I’ve been doing it pretty much my whole life so there’s going to be that desire to be around racing in some capacity. So I do know that it’s not behind a camera, that’s what I definitely definitely know but never say never, as I said. I hope that...

SV: In front of the camera!

LH: Music I will continue to do for as long as I live because it’s just fun and enjoyable but there are so many other things I can do, I think, outside of racing and beyond what I do today so I think it’s just going to be finding that next path, when the time comes, hopefully it’s a long long time away from now. Don’t know what else to say.

Q: (Adam Tate – tributeracing.com) Sebastian, Lewis was talking about all the times we were sitting here watching when it was your day. You’ve each publicly stated you want a showdown with the other next year; is Ferrari ready to make that step? How badly do you want it to be your day again this time next year?

SV: Well, on days like this, very badly. It’s a long way, for sure today it doesn’t feel as good as probably it should after a great race to be honest. When you start 14th and you finish on the podium that’s a pretty good. Equally, let’s not forget the targets that we set out in the beginning... it’s a new start for the entire team, with a lot of things changing. I think we’ve exceeded expectations this year by quite a lot so yeah, the target is to do better next year and to keep fighting until the end and be in a better position. Equally we have to be patient because it’s a big project, there’s a lot of effort that’s going in in Maranello and the people are really hungry and I think that probably the whole factory, the whole team here feels similar to me today whereas it’s great to know that we had a fantastic recovery and another strong race but equally it’s not so nice if you lose out on the championship, so the target is definitely to come back stronger next year and just to keep making progress. I think that’s the best medicine that we need to prescribe to us.

[MIKA27]

Lauda hails Hamilton: "He will get better"

Three-time F1 world champion Niki Lauda has hailed Lewis Hamilton's achievement of winning his third title in today's US Grand Prix in Austin, and says he will "get better and win more".

Lauda, who is part of Hamilton's Mercedes team's management, said today's race was a fitting way to celebrate Hamilton's elevation to the three-time champions' elite.

Victory meant he outscored teammate Nico Rosberg and Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel by enough to points to ensure him of the championship.

"Very good, can't complain, the best race ever today to watch," said Lauda.

"Now he's only as good as I am – I'm joking. He will get better and win more, I tell you.

"I was worried that Vettel could pass Nico and delay the whole thing."

Wolff delighted to add drivers' title

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff added his congratulations to Hamilton's feat, and says he deserves all the accolades.

"Lewis deserves the world championship, he was brilliant in his driving," said Wolff. "Nico was a little less lucky. We need to build him up again in the next few days.

"But it's an amazing feeling, double constructors' and drivers' champions."

Talking about today's race, Wolf admitted: "I'm not sure we got it completely right, the last safety car saved Lewis's race, but he deserved the luck.

"There were a lot of marginal calls, without the [Daniil] Kvyat incident at the end he wouldn't have made it, but now it's done."

[MIKA27]

Verstappen matches best result after long run on softs

Max Verstappen equalled the best result of his F1 career so far thanks to a mid-race gamble on tyres which paid off.

When the Safety Car came out halfway through the race, Verstappen gambled on switching to a fresh set of soft tyres to last him until the end of the race. It worked: and his reward was fourth behind the two Mercedes and Sebastian Vettel.

Afterwards Verstappen was jubilant. “A fourth position is a great result, definitely the best we could do today, and I’m just really, really happy,” he said.

“There were some very good battles out on track and I’d say this was the most complete ace of the season so far, everything worked out as it should have: I made no mistakes and the team did a perfect job with the strategy, making all the right calls.”

The race began on a damp track with all of the drivers on intermediate tyres. The first drivers to make a switch to slicks – Valtteri Bottas and Romain Grosjean – quickly regretted the decision, but both soon retired with unrelated technical problems. Marcus Ericsson was the first driver to successfully make the switch, leading others to follow him.

“It was difficult to know when to make the move on to slick tyres because you never want to go too early and lose time,” Verstappen admitted, “so you just try and wait and see if someone else does it.”

“When I heard over the radio that another car was on slicks and not doing too bad, I said okay, now we go. Once on the softs, I didn’t risk much as I knew I had to look after the tyres and we managed to get to the end in a strong way.”

However Toro Rosso had a difficult race in the pits with their other car. Carlos Sainz Jnr suffered the race’s slowest pit stop after a problem with his right-rear wheel nut, and picked up a five-second time penalty for speeding in the pits.

[MIKA27]

Red Bull ‘could have won in the rain’ – Kvyat

Red Bull took the fight to Mercedes in the early stages of the United States Grand Prix – and Daniil Kvyat reckons they could have won had it stayed wet.

The RB11s were flying in the damp conditions at the beginning of the race and Daniel Ricciardo passed both Mercedes drivers to take the lead.

“To see the Mercs not getting away from us was awesome,” said Ricciardo afterwards. “I was enjoying that. In the lead we were quite quick for a few laps and it felt like old times.”

At this point the first drivers to try slick tyres – Valtteri Bottas and Romain Grosjean – had struggled. But when Marcus Ericsson made the switch his rapid middle sector time signalled to his rivals that the track was ready for slicks.

Red Bull, however, could not find grip on the treadless rubber. “Once we put the slicks on we just didn’t have the pace,” said Ricciardo, who lost 1.3 seconds to Nico Rosberg on his first lap on the soft tyres.

Red Bull’s problems were worst after each of the four Safety Car or Virtual Safety Car interruptions during the race. “We struggled with the warm up with the tyres and also struggled a lot with braking today,” Ricciardo admitted. He finished tenth after contact with Nico Hulkenberg and Carlos Sainz Jnr.

“If it was a wet race I felt it could have been a victory today,” rued Kvyat, who crashed out late in the race. “It’s easy to say that, but there’s no point really, because once it dried out we were an easy target for everyone, which was a bit frustrating.”

[skalls]

Pretty fun race today. The first 15 laps were fun watching them in the wet.

Nico is just not personable at all. He reminds of my brother after he bogeys a hole golfing. Just don't want to be around him at all.

[Bartolomeo]

During the rain delay yesterday on TV the drivers were the most personable I have ever seen in years, glad to see the United States bring out their true personalities

[Orion21]

Nico, Nico, Nico, Nico . . .

What can I say for this guy? He's been the best driver the last three weeks during qualifying to lose twice on the start to his teammate who basically bumps him off the track and once to a failed engine. After yesterdays start I just view Nico as the likable puppy dog who constantly gets put in his place by the Alpha. Lewis driving Nico off the course during the start yesterday just said it all! Once, just once, I would like to see Nico give Lewis a dose of his own medicine, but I know he won't. He's the 2nd driver behind a three time WC who plays protection for 50 laps.

[MIKA27]

Nico, Nico, Nico, Nico . . .

What can I say for this guy? He's been the best driver the last three weeks during qualifying to lose twice on the start to his teammate who basically bumps him off the track and once to a failed engine. After yesterdays start I just view Nico as the likable puppy dog who constantly gets put in his place by the Alpha. Lewis driving Nico off the course during the start yesterday just said it all! Once, just once, I would like to see Nico give Lewis a dose of his own medicine, but I know he won't. He's the 2nd driver behind a three time WC who plays protection for 50 laps.

See if anything, I'd have let Vettel catch up and overtake if it were me....

[MIKA27]

ROAD TO HAMILTON’S THIRD F1 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP TITLE

Lewis Hamilton clinched his third Formula One world championship with victory at the United States Grand Prix.

Below is a look at how his third title was won during 16 of the 19 races, in which he won ten. Below is an overview of the road to his third F1 title.

Australia

Hamilton picked up where he left off at the end of the previous season in Abu Dhabi, taking his 34th career win and from pole position. Team mate Nico Rosberg was second and Sebastian Vettel third on his Ferrari debut.

Hamilton 25 points, Rosberg 18, Vettel 15.

Malaysia

Hamilton, in his 150th race, started on pole and led until the safety car was deployed, when he pitted and Vettel stayed out to win. Hamilton was second, Rosberg third.

Hamilton 43, Vettel 40, Rosberg 33.

China

Win number 35 for Hamilton, who again started on pole and set the fastest lap. Rosberg complained about Hamilton’s slow pace at the front, saying it had compromised his race.

Hamilton 68, Vettel 55, Rosberg 51.

Bahrain

Hamilton took his third win in four races, again from pole, with Rosberg starting and finishing third while Vettel managed only fifth.

Hamilton 93, Rosberg 66, Vettel 65.

Spain

Rosberg took his first win of the season, and from pole, with Hamilton second. The Briton set the fastest lap but paid the price for a poor getaway and slow pitstop and changed from a two stop strategy to three.

Hamilton 111, Rosberg 91, Vettel 80.

Monaco

Rosberg won in Monaco for the third year in a row after starting second. Hamilton led from pole and looked set to win until a needless late pitstop, with the safety car deployed, scuppered his chances. He finished third and behind Vettel.

Hamilton 126, Rosberg 116, Vettel 98.

Canada

Hamilton returned to winning ways with his fourth victory of the season and fourth in Canada. He started on pole for the sixth time in seven races. Rosberg was second.

Hamilton 151, Rosberg 134, Vettel 108.

Austria

Another Mercedes one-two but this time with Rosberg winning and setting fastest lap. Hamilton started on pole and led for three laps, equalling Jackie Stewart’s 45-year-old record of leading 17 successive races. It was his 15th successive podium.

Hamilton 169, Rosberg 159, Vettel 120.

Britain

Hamilton started on pole, set the fastest lap and broke Stewart’s record by leading his 18th successive race. He became only the third British driver to win three times at home. Rosberg was second.

Hamilton 194, Rosberg 177, Vettel 135.

Hungary

Mercedes had a nightmare, Hamilton starting on pole but making a poor start and dropping out of the points before recovering to finish sixth. He also collected a drive-through penalty for a collision with Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo. Rosberg was second, and might have won, but a collision with Ricciardo punctured a rear tyre. Vettel won.

Hamilton 202, Rosberg 181, Vettel 160.

Belgium

Mercedes bounced back with a one-two. Hamilton won from pole for his sixth victory of the season and 39th of his career. The race also brought his 80th podium, equalling Ayrton Senna’s tally. Rosberg set the fastest lap. Vettel had a tyre blowout on his last lap while third and was classified 12th.

Hamilton 227, Rosberg 199, Vettel 160.

Italy

Hamilton’s seventh win of the season, 40th of his career and third at Monza which also made him the first back-to-back winner there since compatriot Damon Hill in 1993/94. The Briton, in his 50th race for Mercedes, started on pole for the 11th time in 12 races and set the fastest lap. Rosberg was third until his car’s previously used engine blew with two laps left. Both cars were found to have tyres below the minimum pressure but stewards ruled Mercedes had followed the correct procedures.

Hamilton 252, Rosberg 199, Vettel 178.

Singapore

Hamilton’s first retirement of the season, and first since Belgium last year. The champion started fifth, with Rosberg sixth, but suffered a loss of boost pressure and retired on lap 32. Mercedes’ run of 23 poles in a row came to an end, as did Hamilton’s hopes of equalling Senna’s tally of 41 wins from 161 starts. Rosberg finished fourth.

Hamilton 252, Rosberg 211, Vettel 203.

Japan

Hamilton’s eighth win of the season and 41st of his career, equalling Senna’s tally. Mercedes’ eighth one-two finish. Rosberg started on pole for only the second time this year but lost out at the start. Hamilton set the fastest lap.

Hamilton 277, Rosberg 229, Vettel 218.

Russia

Mercedes secured their second successive constructors’ title with Hamilton winning for the ninth time this year, and second in a row in Russia. Rosberg started on pole but retired on lap seven with a throttle problem. Vettel finished second.

Hamilton 302, Vettel 236, Rosberg 229.

United States

Hamilton took the title, winning the race despite Rosberg starting on pole after rain-affected qualifying. Rosberg made a mistake while leading late on and Hamilton swept past. Vettel came in third.

Hamilton 327, Vettel 251, Rosberg 247

[MIKA27]

ALONSO CLAIMS NEW HONDA ENGINE NOT MUCH BETTER

Fernando Alonso was not been very impressed McLaren-Honda’s apparent recent progress after the United States Grand Prix.

Using Honda’s token-upgraded ‘power unit’ for the first time in a race, the Spaniard had fought his way from dead last to fifth when reliability trouble struck.

“If we had finished fifth I think it would have been the best race of my career,” he told Spanish reporters including the news agency EFE.

But Alonso was also keen to bring feet back to earth, amid excitable reports about the improved performance of the revised Honda engine and lofty ambitions for 2016.

“The better performance of the engine is something that has been talked about a lot, but to put the record straight, we were talking about a tenth (of a second),” he said.

Alonso nevertheless acknowledged, “After such a strong recovery [from a Turn 1 incident with Felipe Massa] it was a shame that a mechanical issue in the closing laps put us out of the fight.”

“That meant my feelings after the race were more sad than happy – but we can go away and continue to try to improve these issues,” declared the Spaniard.

Meanwhile, Alonso hailed his former McLaren teammate Lewis Hamilton, who on Sunday raced past his own mantle of two world championships to join legends like Niki Lauda and Ayrton Senna with a third.

“Hamilton has been on another level this year. He dominated from the start until the end,” he said.

“Last year (Nico) Rosberg at least put some excitement in it but this year he (Hamilton) deserves it more than anyone. Let’s see if next year someone can make it a bit harder for him again,” Alonso added.