Formula One 2017: Austin

What a difference 2 races make! Well, if you win and your closest competitor is a DNF.

Hamilton now stands 59 points clear of Vettel and could clinch the Driver’s Title in Austin, a power race that favors Mercedes over Maranello. If he wins or comes in second and Vettel finishes no better than 6th or 9th respectively it’s champagne time. Indeed if Bottas finishes 2nd and Vettel 8th or lower, Bottas will take over 2nd position in the Driver’s Championship.

On offer will be Pirelli’s 3 softest compounds, Soft, Super Soft, and Ultra Soft. The track runs counter clockwise which is unusual and the new wider tires have led to faster lap times across the board. The grid is Hamilton, Vettel, Bottas, Ricciardo, Raikkonen, Ocon, Sainz, Alonso, Perez, and Massa. Verstappen got a 15 place penalty for exceding his engine allowance. Hulkenberg received a 20 place penalty for an engine change, Brendon Hartley a 25 place one and Vandoorne 5 places for the same reason. Stroll and Magnussen each got a 3 place penalty for impeding.

All of which makes no difference really, other than silly season stuff there is little drama left. Barring catastrophic failure or a horrible accident Hamilton is set for his 4th World Championship either here or next race in Mexico City. The question now is about the Scuderia Marlboro implosion and how that will effect the Maranello effort going forward into next season. Fiat has already signaled its unhappiness with the racing program as evidenced by the shakeup that replaced almost all the top team leadership with Fiat executives. This year they seemed close, fielding a car that while distinctly inferior in power seemed to handle much better than the Mercedes. Where do they go from here? Duke it out with Red Bull for also ran?

Bwahhahhahhahhah!

42 comments

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    • on 10/22/2017 at 14:27
      Author

    Vent Hole

    • on 10/22/2017 at 15:01
      Author

    Recon lap

    • on 10/22/2017 at 15:04
      Author

    We race

    • on 10/22/2017 at 15:04
      Author

    Vettel gets the lead at the start

    • on 10/22/2017 at 15:11
      Author

    Hulkenberg done

    • on 10/22/2017 at 15:13
      Author

    Lap 5 of 56

    Vettel
    Hamilton
    Bottas
    Ricciardo
    Raikkonen
    Ocon
    Alonso
    Sainz
    Verstappen
    Massa

    • on 10/22/2017 at 15:14
      Author

    Werlein pits

    • on 10/22/2017 at 15:15
      Author

    Werlein stops

    • on 10/22/2017 at 15:18
      Author

    Hartly pits

    • on 10/22/2017 at 15:21
      Author

    Lap 10 of 56

    Hamilton
    Vettel
    Bottas
    Ricciardo
    Raikkonen
    Verstappen
    Ocon
    Alonso
    Sainz
    Massa

    • on 10/22/2017 at 15:22
      Author

    Stroll pits

    • on 10/22/2017 at 15:24
      Author

    Ricciardo and Perez pit

    • on 10/22/2017 at 15:27
      Author

    Ocon and Alonso pit

    • on 10/22/2017 at 15:30
      Author

    Lap 15 of 56

    Hamilton
    Vettel
    Bottas
    Raikkonen
    Verstappen
    Sainz
    Massa
    Kvyat
    Grosjean
    Vandoorne

    • on 10/22/2017 at 15:31
      Author

    Ricciardo stops. Engine

    • on 10/22/2017 at 15:31
      Author

    Vettel pits

    • on 10/22/2017 at 15:31
      Author

    Grosjean pits

    • on 10/22/2017 at 15:33
      Author

    Kvyat pits

    • on 10/22/2017 at 15:34
      Author

    Bottas pits

    • on 10/22/2017 at 15:35
      Author

    Hamilton pits

    • on 10/22/2017 at 15:36
      Author

    Sainz pits

    • on 10/22/2017 at 15:37
      Author

    Raikkonen pits

    • on 10/22/2017 at 15:38
      Author

    Lap 20 of 56

    Verstappen
    Hamilton
    Vettel
    Bottas
    Raikkonen
    Massa
    Ocon
    Alonso
    Perez
    Vandoorne

    • on 10/22/2017 at 15:40
      Author

    Ericsson pits

    • on 10/22/2017 at 15:44
      Author

    Verstappen pits

    • on 10/22/2017 at 15:46
      Author

    Alonso pits again

    • on 10/22/2017 at 15:47
      Author

    Lap 25 of 56

    Hamilton
    Vettel
    Bottas
    Raikkonen
    Verstappen
    Massa
    Ocon
    Perez
    Sainz
    Kvyat

    • on 10/22/2017 at 15:47
      Author

    Vandoorne pits

    • on 10/22/2017 at 15:47
      Author

    Alonso done

    • on 10/22/2017 at 15:53
      Author

    Massa pits

    • on 10/22/2017 at 15:55
      Author

    Lap 30 of 56

    Hamilton
    Vettel
    Bottas
    Raikkonen
    Verstappen
    Ocon
    Perez
    Sainz
    Kvyat
    Grosjean

    • on 10/22/2017 at 16:03
      Author

    Lap 35 of 56

    Hamilton
    Vettel
    Bottas
    Raikkonen
    Verstappen
    Ocon
    Sainz
    Perez
    Kvyat
    Grosjean

    • on 10/22/2017 at 16:04
      Author

    Hartly pits again

    • on 10/22/2017 at 16:06
      Author

    Stroll pits again

    • on 10/22/2017 at 16:06
      Author

    Verstappen pits again

    • on 10/22/2017 at 16:08
      Author

    Vettel pits again

    • on 10/22/2017 at 16:12
      Author

    Lap 40 of 56

    Hamilton
    Bottas
    Raikkonen
    Vettel
    Verstappen
    Ocon
    Sainz
    Perez
    Kvyat
    Massa

    • on 10/22/2017 at 16:20
      Author

    Lap 45 of 56

    Hamilton
    Raikkonen
    Bottas
    Vettel
    Verstappen
    Ocon
    Sainz
    Perez
    Kvyat
    Massa

    • on 10/22/2017 at 16:28
      Author

    Lap 50 of 56

    Hamilton
    Raikkonen
    Vettel
    Bottas
    Verstappen
    Ocon
    Sainz
    Perez
    Kvyat
    Massa

    • on 10/22/2017 at 16:31
      Author

    Bottas pits yet again

    • on 10/22/2017 at 16:36
      Author

    Lap 55 of 56

    Hamilton
    Vettel
    Raikkonen
    Verstappen
    Bottas
    Ocon
    Sainz
    Perez
    Massa
    Kvyat

    • on 10/22/2017 at 16:39
      Author

    Final

    Hamilton
    Vettel
    Verstappen
    Raikkonen
    Bottas
    Ocon
    Sainz
    Perez
    Massa
    Kvyat

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