Well, there’s an 80% chance of rain which means the tire choices of Ultra, Super, and Soft won’t mean much. Most teams have trotted out their mid course corrections in terms of aero and engine modifications which means…
basically nothing. Red Bull is a little more competitive against Ferarri and they are both still .2 second behind Mercedes. Hamilton is back, maybe. At least he still knows how to win a race from the front and if he scores another victory while Rosberg finishes no better than 10th they’ll be dead even tied for the Driver’s Championship.
What’s interesting about the course is first of all it’s a street track, which means no decades of rubbering in, but more importantly that it’s not a highly abrasive surface as most dedicated ones are. This should give an edge to the Ultra Softs except they won’t be using them (rain, remember?). The layout is just two long straights with some twisty bits between them and though it’s narrow it’s not as narrow as Monaco. Likewise it’s short, just 2.7 miles per lap, but unlike Monaco it really rewards the lowest downforce you can dial in (because of the straights silly).
Between that and the slickness you can expect lots of parking which is fine if you’re going for that Turn Left experience. I find it difficult to cover like most American races because of my seasonal time dyslexia and it usually takes place during a busy time of year.
Thus it has mostly escaped me how boring it is except for the often surprising results.
Pre-empted by another domestic terrorism shooting on NBC. On NBC SN.
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Vent Hole
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Your hour of hype interrupted by another act of domestic terrorism.
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Apparently pre-empted on NBC, available on NBC SN.
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Not raining at the moment. Cold and windy. Only Ericsson on Softs, everyone else Ultras.
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We race
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Vettel shoots out in front. Hamilton taps Rosberg.
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Start replay
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Lap 5 of 70
Vettel
Hamilton
Verstappen
Ricciardo
Raikkonen
Bottas
Massa
Hulkenberg
Rosberg
Alonso
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Hamilton in DRS range
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Lap 10 of 70
Vettel
Hamilton
Verstappen
Ricciardo
Raikkonen
Bottas
Massa
Hulkenberg
Rosberg
Alonso
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Button parks, blown engine.
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Raikkonen and Vettel pit
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Lap 15 of 70
Hamilton
Verstappen
Ricciardo
Vettel
Bottas
Massa
Rosberg
Hulkenberg
Alonso
Perez
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Alonso and Grosjean pit
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Kvyat Palmer pit
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Haryanto 1 lap down @ lap 18
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Verstappen pits
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Lap 20 of 70
Hamilton
Vettel
Bottas
Massa
Verstappen
Ricciardo
Perez
Rosberg
Hulkenberg
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Rosberg, Massa pit
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Hamilton pits
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Lap 25 of 70
Vettel
Hamilton
Verstappen
Raikkonen
Ricciardo
Bottas
Rosberg
Perez
Massa
Hulkenberg
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Lap 30 of 70
Vettel
Hamilton
Verstappen
Raikkonen
Ricciardo
Bottas
Rosberg
Massa
Hulkenberg
Sainz
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Vettel pits. Game on.
I’m following the race on my very windy back deck
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Lap 45 of 70
Hamilton
Vettel
Verstappen
Bottas
Rosberg
Raikkonen
Ricciardo
Hulkenberg
Sainz
Perez
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Verstappen, Sainz, and Grosjean pit
If Hamilton wins, how close will he be to Rosberg for the championship?
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Lap 51 Rosberg pits
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Hulkenberg pits
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Lap 55 of 70
Hamilton
Vettel
Bottas
Verstappen
Raikkonen
Rosberg
Ricciardo
Hulkenberg
Sainz
Perez
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Lap 60 of 70
Hamilton
Vettel
Bottas
Verstappen
Rosberg
Raikkonen
Ricciardo
Hulkenberg
Sainz
Perez
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Hulkenberg lapped. Massa out.
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Lap 65 of 70
Hamilton
Vettel
Bottas
Verstappen
Rosberg
Raikkonen
Ricciardo
Hulkenberg
Sainz
Perez
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Rosberg has an off in the final lap
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Final
Hamilton
Vettel
Bottas
Verstappen
Rosberg
Raikkonen
Ricciardo
Hulkenberg
Sainz
Perez
another domestic terrorism shooting on NBC nominated for a daytime Emmy.