Hamilton Reached For The Stars In US Grand Prix Qualifying

Photo Credit: Daimler AG Mercedes Benz

One year ago, Lewis Hamilton put the cap on a remarkable 2015 Formula 1 season by clinching his third world championship at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas with victory in the race. It was after the 2015 United States Grand Prix when circumstances emerged that would preview a different 2016 for the reigning champion.

As Hamilton settled into his title-winning rhythm in the late part of last season, the other Mercedes AMG driver Nico Rosberg had broken into a late-season rush by winning the final three races. A driver who was perhaps underestimated and sometimes discounted compared to his proven teammate, Rosberg carried his new-found momentum after the United States Grand Prix into the early races of 2016. Now, as Formula 1 returns for the 2016 event at the Circuit of the Americas, it is the German driver who holds an advantage on Hamilton. However, with four races remaining and a 33-point lead for Rosberg, the twisty 20-turn, 5.516-kilometer track in Texas provides a showdown in the twilight of a season.

With pole position at stake on Saturday afternoon, the fight for the qualifying supremacy in the United States Grand Prix became the latest show of equality between the title contenders Mercedes AMG drivers jostled for the top spot throughout qualifying. Lewis Hamilton posted the top time in Q1 while Nico Rosberg was faster in a Q2 session where Red Bull Racing's Daniel Ricciardo was the ultimate quickest. Hamilton's late lap in Q3 at a time of 1-minute, 34.999 seconds was the edge the Brit needed for his first pole at the Circuit of the Americas 0.216 seconds faster than teammate Rosberg. Despite coming short in qualifying at track, Sunday's main event has been highly fortune for Hamilton who won on three of the four races held on the circuit.

As Mercedes AMG race cars achieved a front row lockout for the 11th grand prix in 2016, Red Bull Racing again appeared highly visible as the second-best team on the current Formula 1 grid for the 2016 United States Grand Prix. Daniel Ricciardo outran fellow Red Bull-TAG Heuer racer Max Verstappen. Ricciardo will be the highest driver at the start of Sunday's race to start on Pirelli's Supersoft compound tires. The pattern of teams dominating grid rows continued with the Scuderia Ferrari team. Kimi Raikkonen is placed in the 5th place spot beside 6th place Sebastian Vettel.

Photo Credit: Foto Studio Columbo Per Pirelli Media

Announcing new plans for the 2017 season earlier this month involving a switch to the Renault team, German driver Nico Hulkenberg posted the seventh fastest time in qualifying in association with his current Force India outfit. Williams Martini Racing's Valtteri Bottas joins Hulkenberg on the fourth row while teammate Felipe Massa will starting one spot behind in ninth. Carlos Sainz Jr driving a Toro Rosso-Ferrari is the final driver settled into the top-10 for the United States Grand Prix.

No grid place penalties for mechanical changes or dispensary reasons means all 22 Formula 1 drivers will start in their qualifying positions. The 2016 United States Grand Prix is slated for a 2 PM local starting time (3 PM in the eastern time zone).

2016 Formula 1
United States Grand Prix
Starting Lineup

Pos # Car # Driver Team Engine

1 44 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes AMG Mercedes-Benz
2 6 Nico Rosberg Mercedes AMG Mercedes-Benz
3 3 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull TAG Heuer
4 33 Max Verstappen Red Bull TAG Heuer
5 7 Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari Ferrari
6 5 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari Ferrari
7 27 Nico Hulkenberg Force India Mercedes-Benz
8 77 Valtteri Bottas Williams F1 Mercedes-Benz
9 19 Felipe Massa Williams F1 Mercedes-Benz
10 55 Carlos Sainz Jr Scuderia Toro Rosso Ferrari
11 11 Sergio Perez Force India Mercedes-Benz
12 14 Fernando Alonso McLaren Honda
13 26 Daniil Kvyat Scuderia Toro Rosso Ferrari
14 9 Esteban Gutierrez Haas F1 Team Ferrari
15 30 Jolyon Palmer Renault Renault
16 9 Marcus Ericsson Sauber Ferrari
17 8 Romain Grosjean Haas F1 Team Ferrari
18 20 Kevin Magnussen Renault Renault
19 22 Jenson Button McLaren Honda
20 28 Pascal Wehrlein Manor Mercedes-Benz
21 12 Felipe Nasr Sauber Ferrari
22 31 Esteban Ocon Manor Mercedes-Benz

Seabastian Vettel Sporting Special Helmet In Preparation for US Grand Prix

Photo Source: Infinti

Sebastian Vettel has once-again attracted the spotlight in a Formula 1 season.

Despite a relatively slow start to the 2013 season, Vettel remained consistent early and later caught fire with an ongoing seven-race winning streak. Locking up the 2013 Formula 1 World Drivers' Championship after the Indian Grand Prix, Sebastian Vettel heads into the upcoming United States Grand Prix in Austin, Texas as a driver still on a mission to stand out among competitors. Thanks to artist Rolf Carsjens, the Red Bull Racing driver will have a slightly different look at the Circuit of the Americas for Friday and Saturday.

A winning design resulting from a social media driven design competition, Vettel's helmet during Friday practice, Saturday practice and qualifying is specially created for the 2013 United States Grand Prix. Carsjens' design prominently features the unmistakable details of the American flag. A more subtle detail on the helmet design honour the city of Austin. Musical notes run along the top and bottom. Red Bull colours and sponsorship badging are integrated into the helmet design.

Photo source: Infiniti

Currently based in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Rolf Carsjens is a German born artist who happens to be a big fan of the four-time Formula 1 champion. "His performance and professionalism as a young Formula One Driver is incredible. I also like his personality: He seems to be so humble and down to earth. I'm looking really forward to meeting Sebastian in person.", said Carsjens. For his part in designing the winning helmet design, Rolf Carsjens and a guest (his wife Sheilagh) was granted VIP access at the Circuit of the Americas' Formula 1 weekend. The VIP hospitality includes a trip to the Red Bull Racing garage as the honour of meeting Sebastian Vettel himself.



Photo source: Infiniti

 

 

Sebastian Vettel will revert to his traditional helmet design during the Sunday's grand prix race.

Vettel Claims Pole as Prelude to Inaugural Austin USGP

Photo credit: Pirelli Photo Service
 

As a globetrotting sport, the 2012 Formula 1 tour has completed 18 events on the European, Asian and European continents. In the final two races for the current season, visits to the North American and South American regions will present competitors with two additional stamps on their passports for the year.

The second to last event on the 2012 Formula 1 calender was the return of the open wheel series to the United States christening the newly-built Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas. The first United States Grand Prix since the 2007 race held on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway's road course, the construction of the complex surrounding the 5.515-kilometer track was a major gamble. While there had been strong support for Formula 1 racing in the US, the last venture at Indy occurred as audience dropped and just two years after a controversial incident relating to tires resulted in only grand prix running with just six cars. The Circuit of the Americas was born off empty land specifically to allure the 2012 Formula 1 competitors back.

Photo Credit: Alastair Staley/LAT Photographic for Caterham F1

First hot-lapping the new racetrack outside of a one of the many computer simulators Formula 1 teams utilize, drivers were immediately acquainted to a beautiful but slippery, 20-turn course. Despite the constant fight for grip on the new surface, opinions for the challenging Texas racing complex were generally favourable. Caterham driver Heikki Kovalainen referred to the Circuit of the Americas as "... a proper driver’s track" on Friday after navigating the track's unique corners and the many elevation changes.

With only two sessions of notes from Friday practice and final set on Saturday morning, qualifying saw the familiar front-running Formula 1 teams develop the most effective attack for the top grid positions for the 2012 United States Grand Prix. Taking pole was the Red Bull-Renault handled by the Formula 1 driver title-fighting Sebastian Vettel. Posting a winning time of 1-minute, 35.657 seconds, Vettel bested the top lap he set in Friday by more than two seconds.

Though Sebastian Vettel installed himself into third pole position in the past five grand prix races, the Red Bull Racing driver's margin of success in qualifying at the Circuit of the Americas was narrow. Lewis Hamilton posted a lap time in his McLaren-Mercedes little more than one-tenth of second short of taking Saturday honours. While Hamilton's McLaren found the speed for a front-row starting spot, the second team car driven by Jenson Button encountered a loss of power during the Q2 session. Button will start 12th for Sunday's United States Grand Prix.

Photo Credit: Pirelli Photo Service

Starting from the second row of grid in the Formula 1 tour's first visit to the Circuit of the Americas will both be Renault powered race machines. Mark Webber is third in the second Red Bull Racing entry while the Formula 1 series' recent winner of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix Kimi Raikkonen will leave the grid in the fourth position Sunday piloting his Lotus F1 Team car.

Wrapping up his final season in Formula 1, Michael Schumacher pulled off a great performance to lead his Mercedes GP effort. Qualifying fifth, Schumacher comes to a country where he won five grand prix races in the past. Michael Schumacher fared much better in Saturday's qualifying than teammate Nico Rosberg how struggled to just a 17th fastest pace under the time trial session.

Photo credit: Mercedes GP

Splitting Nico Hulkenberg's seventh place effort driving for Force India, the Ferrari team cars of Felipe Massa and the championship-contending Fernando Alonso will have to move their red race cars from the bottom half of the top-10 to battle for the United States Grand Prix win. In qualifying, the Brazilian driver Massa bettered teammate Alonso could only muster an eighth fastest time. Running out of opportunities on the 20-race calender this season, Fernando Alonso sits 10 points behind Sebastian Vettel ahead of Sunday's event on the Circuit of the Americas.

Scheduled to start at 2 PM eastern time, the 2012 United States Grand Prix will be a puzzling 56 lap race. While the track is still short on providing grip, low wear to Pirelli racing tires has some driver and teams planning a one-pit stop event Sunday.

Formula 1 competitors and crowds for the inaugural Formula 1 event at the Circuit of the Americas will enjoy a sunny 56-lap feature. The Sunday race in Austin, Texas will take place under comfortable temperatures topping 70 degrees Fahrenheit (21 degrees Celsius) another the afternoon start time for the United States Grand Prix.


2012 Formula 1
United States Grand Prix
Starting Grid

Pos #	Car #/ Driver/ Constructor
1	1 Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault
2	4 Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes
3	2 Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault
4	9 Kimi Raikkonen Lotus-Renault
5	7 Michael Schumacher Mercedes GP
6	6 Felipe Massa Ferrari
7	12 Nico Hulkenberg Force India-Mercedes
8	5 Fernando Alonso Ferrari
9	10 Romain Grosjean Lotus-Renault
10	18 Pastor Maldonado Williams-Renault
11	19 Bruno Senna Williams-Renault
12	3 Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes
13	11 Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes
14	17 Jean-Eric Vergne Scuderia Toro Rosso-Ferrari
15	15 Sergio Perez Sauber-Ferrari
16	14 Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari
17	8 Nico Rosberg Mercedes GP
18	16 Daniel Ricciardo Scuderia Toro Rosso-Ferrari
19	24 Timo Glock Marussia-Cosworth
20	25 Charlie Pic Marussia-Cosworth
21	21 Vitaly Petrov Caterham-Renault
22	20 Heikki Kovalainen Caterham-Renault
23	22 Pedro de la Rosa HRT F1
24	23 Narain Karthikeyan HRT F1