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Tag: Mercedes
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To get a front row in dry conditions is awesome, says Ricciardo
DRIVERS
1 – Nico ROSBERG (Mercedes)
2 – Daniel RICCIARDO (Red Bull)
3 – Kimi RAIKKONEN (Ferrari)TV UNILATERAL
Q: Nico, it all looked fairly in control, a little bit of a glitch at the start of the session with Lewis, but how does that feel for you?
Nico ROSBERG: I’m pleased of course. The whole weekend has gone well. The car was handling well in qualifying, you know, so to get the lap done and to put it on pole, I’m happy about that of course. Not ecstatic, because of course Lewis had bad luck and his car broke down so the fight didn’t happen but anyways I’m pleased.Q: Daniel, you pulled that one out of the bag at the last minute, your second time on the front row here. Where did that come from?
Daniel RICCIARDO: I’m not sure! To be honest the qualifying – I didn’t think we started in the best position in Q1 in terms of it being a disrupted session. Just with the balance we didn’t seem like we were really going to be in a fight with the front few rows today and then in Q3 we found a bit more speed. The option here, the supersoft, it’s a tricky tyre to manage. To get the one lap out of it is not exactly easy, it gets chewed up quite a bit as the lap goes on. I think just understanding that as the session goes on and obviously between me understanding a bit more what to do on track and the engineer making a few adjustments with pressures and front wing and I think we got a good package at the end and second is pretty awesome, we didn’t expect this.Q: Thank you. Kimi, coming to you, Ferrari look good on the supersofts, but there was a maybe a mistake on your last run. Was there more to get out of it?
Kimi RAIKKONEN: Yeah, I mean even the previous run, same corner I ran really deep, too deep, and in the last one I was quite a bit up on that lap and I just ran wide on the hairpin and obviously I lost a lot of time. It’s a shame, I think we had a chance to be even on the top today, but that’s how it goes and we try to make the best out of it tomorrow.Q: Thank you. Coming back to you Nico. Looking ahead to tomorrow, you obviously went on the soft tyre in Q2, so that’s the tyre you start on. Does that leave you with a significant advantage tomorrow do you think?
NR: I’m not sure, I haven’t dug into strategy stuff so much yet, but I would think that it’s going to a good thing, for sure, to start with that tyre and maybe it gives me a bit of an advantage over the others but as I say I’m not sure yet, we need to look into it tonight.PRESS CONFERENCE
Q: Nico, once again you seemed able to pull out another half second gap in that final run in Q3. Where’s that coming from. Where are you finding that?
NR: Well, I think the team is just doing a great job and we have the fastest car out there – and that’s it. We’re putting it together in qualifying and it’s great to see. But Kimi did a big mistake – apparently, I haven’t seen it – and lost quite a lot of time, so it would have been… my lap was very good, so it would have been very, very close. That’s what we were expecting actually. That’s why I needed to pull one out, to make sure that I can be on pole today. And I’m glad that it worked out.Q: Daniel, you’ve been on the front row here before but it looks like you’ve definitely found something here. It bodes well for the future?
DR: Yeah. The start of the season, obviously we’ve only had a couple of races but up until now, this point, I think we’ve exceeded or maximised everything that we’ve got. We showed true dry pace today. I got a front row here a couple of years ago but that was in the wet. We always know we’re a bit stronger in the wet, at least the last few years, so to get a front row in dry conditions, it’s awesome – and yeah, it’s testament to how far we’ve come since the end of 2015. We’ll try to keep doing it. It feels good to be back up here. I know it’s only quali but the plan is to be back here tomorrow after the race We’re kicking goals at the moment. Really happy.Q: Kimi, what’s likely to happen for you tomorrow in the race? What can you do? Especially with Nico starting on that soft tyre and being able to go a lot longer in that first stint.
KR: I don’t know! Not going to start guessing or anything. Quite disappointed about what happened in qualifying but third is not a bad place to start. On the better side still. We have to make a normal good start and go from there – obviously then see how it pans out. I’m sure the circuit is not in ideal conditions today after the rain. Hopefully tomorrow it is more close to what it was yesterday. But who knows? We’ll try to make the fastest race and see what it brings, if we can fight against the guys that are in front of us or not, we will see.QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR
Q: (Dan Knutson – Auto Action/Speedsport magazines) Daniel, as you say, great one lap pace, and you hope to be back here tomorrow but how do you see the race going over a whole race distance with the pace of the car?
DR: I think today’s encouraging. If we can have this on one lap, in the race we should still be pretty competitive. We’re normally a bit better off in the race. Let’s see. I think the race will be… hopefully we’ve got a race with Ferrari. I think Nico, starting on the softs, should be in good shape but let’s see. I hope to have a race with the Ferrari and if we can battle for the podium, that will be awesome. The track changed quite a lot today, this afternoon. Compared to yesterday I felt the balance was quite a long way different. Depends if it goes back towards yesterday track conditions or if it stays as today. That will probably dictate where we end up in the race, what the track temp does tomorrow and if it wears out the front tyres or wears out the rears. I think that’s going to be a determining factor. Hopefully we’re on the good end of that. I think we should be. Looking forward to it.Q: (Haoran Zhou – Top Driver) Question to all drivers. Because of the unique structure of the grandstand we have a wet patch just before the start line and another at the entry to Turn One. We would like to know, did that affect how you approached the start of your flying lap at all – especially in Q1?
NR: It was difficult initially, quite tricky, as we saw with Wehrlein also, and so even on the last lap, just to keep it safe, I didn’t use DRS over the patch, for example.Kimi?
KR: Yeah, at the start it was slippery but at the end it was OK to go full speed DRS but it wasn’t completely dry. Not ideal but that’s how it is.Daniel?
DR: It was the same, first Q1 and Q2 without the DRS, just to play it safe and then Q3 we managed to keep it open. It’s not so much the wet patch, it’s the bump, which then unloads the rear and then, on the wet it’s coincidence where the bump is and where the bridge, I guess… yes, it’s more the bump than the wet patch itself causing some issues. It was, yeah, a bit edgy the first few runs and then it was OK.Q: (Michael Schmidt – Auto Motor und Sport) Kimi, did you consider like Sebastian to save a set of Supersofts for the race and, if not, why not? And can you say where you lost the time – I didn’t see your lap, unfortunately.
KR: Obviously we had different options what to do but we will not know what was the best for tomorrow. I decided to go out again and it was a good lap until, I think, Turn 14, the end of the back straight, the hairpin. I almost ran off the circuit there. Not idea but that’s how it is.Q: (Keren Wang – Top Driver) One question for Nico. As Lewis has encountered some engine situation or power unit failure, have you encountered any similar situations today, so far?
NR: No, I haven’t. I had an issue yesterday. Need to have a look and try to understand that. Of course it’s bad luck for Lewis today, definitely.
Nico Roseberg (Centre) at the Saturday FIA Press Conference after taking pole. An FIA image -
Rosberg’s dream-start continues at Bahrain; Hamilton recovers to 3rd behind Raikkonen
Rosberg celebrates after winning the Bahrain GP on 3rd April 2016. A Mercedes AMG Petronas image Nico Rosberg dream start to the 2016 season continued as the German took his second consecutive victory and his first in Bahrain and his first at the Gulf circuit. Kimi Raikkonen took his fifth second place with Lewis Hamilton recovering to third after a first-corner collision.
Before the start there was disappointment for Ferrari as Sebastian Vettel, set to start from third, slowed on the formation lap with smoke billowing from the back of his car.
His failure to start, the first of his career, meant a space opened on the grid beside Raikkonen and in front of Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo, starting from fifth.
The Australian couldn’t capitalise, however, and when the lights went out he made a poor start. That allowed Williams’ Valtteri Bottas to surge past.
Hamilton too had started badly and as Rosberg powered into the lead and Raikkonen stole second Hamilton fell back towards Bottas.
The Finn tried to push past the champion on the inside of Turn One but they clashed. Ricciardo got involved too, losing part of his front wing.
However, while Hamilton and Bottas, who would later be penalised for causing the collision, fell back, Ricciardo managed to hold position and he slotted into third.
At the front Rosberg began to pull away rapidly and he soon built up a sizeable lead over Raikkonen, with the Finn later commenting that the Mercedes driver was “a straight in front after a few laps”.
That set the pattern for the top two positions as Rosberg managed his pace and comfortably kept Raikkonen at bay for the whole race.
Behind them, Ricciardo dived for the pits on lap six, but while he did take on new tyres, he chose not to take a new wing and he rejoined still nursing the damage but with greater pace thanks to hi new tyres. Across his first stint he battled back to third.
Hamilton, though, was also recovering from his earlier travails and despite sustaining debilitating floor damage, the champion rapidly made his way through the order on medium tyres, which he took onboard on lap 13. He passed Ricciardo on lap 17 and that spelled the end of any hopes the Australian had of a podium finish.
He settled into fourth spot and though he relinquished it twice as the strategies played out, his final stint on medium tyres, saw him solidify the result and he took his second fourth place in a row to score 12 points and to take third in the Drivers’ standings from the unfortunate Vettel.
Although Hamilton got to within five seconds of Raikkonen at one stage, he could not match the Finn’s pace and in the final stint he dropped back as he save his tyres in the hope of a safety car period that never came.
With Ricciardo fourth, fifth place went to Romain Grosjean, as Haas again surprised. The Frenchman worked his way through three sets of supersofts as he rose from ninth on the grid and though he couldn’t find the pace to challenger Ricciardo he still managed to better his opening result in Australia by one position. The new team now sits fifth in the Constructors’ Standings, ahead of Toro Rosso, Force India, McLaren, Renault, Sauber and Manor.
Toro Rosso’s Max Verstappen took another good result for the Italian squad with sixth place, though there was disappointment for the Faenza team as Carlos Sainz failed to finish.
Daniil Kvyat delivered an excellent performance. Starting 15th, the Russian ran two stints on soft tyres to avoid traffic and rise through the order before using two superbly aggressive stints on supersofts to claim seventh place. The run included a brave pass on Felipe Massa on the final lap.
Massa took eighth ahead of team-mate Bottas, while the final point went to McLaren rookie Stoffel Vandoorne who drove a faultless race to the points from 12th on the grid. It was a less successful day for team-mate Jenson Button, with the veteran racer exiting the race with power loss on lap six.
2016 Bahrain Grand Prix – Race
1 Nico Rosberg Mercedes 57 laps – 1h33m34.696s
2 Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari +10.282
3 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes +30.148
4 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull Racing +62.494
5 Romain Grosjean Haas +78.299
6 Max Verstappen Toro Rosso +80.929
7 Daniil Kvyat Red Bull Racing +1 lap
8 Felipe Massa Williams +1 lap
9 Valtteri Bottas Williams +1 lap
10 Stoffel Vandoorne McLaren +1 lap
11 Kevin Magnussen Renault +1 lap
12 Marcus Ericsson Sauber +1 lap
13 Pascal Wehrlein Manor Racing +1 lap
14 Felipe Nasr Sauber +1 lap 3
15 Nico Hulkenberg Force India +1 lap 4
16 Sergio Perez Force India +1 lap 3
17 Rio Haryanto Manor Racing +1 lap 3
18 Carlos Sainz Toro Rosso DNF 3
19 Esteban Gutierrez Haas DNF 2
20 Jenson Button McLaren DNF 0
21 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari DNS 0
22 Jolyon Palmier Renault DNS 0 -
Hamilton edges out Rosberg to take pole; Hulkenberg P8 for Force India
Sakhir, 2 April 2016: Lewis Hamilton set the fastest ever lap of the Bahrain International Circuit to take pole position for tomorrow’s Bahrain Grand Prix.
The champion was pushed hard by team-mate Nico Rosberg, however, and with the competition tight at the front of the grid, the second instalment of the sport’s elimination-style qualifying format saw the top drivers take to the circuit for a second run, which saw Hamilton post a blistering lap of 1:29.493 to beat his team-mate.
It was an impressive lap from the champion, as on the first run in Q3 he had run wide and found himself in fourth place as Rosberg put in a faultless sub-1:30s lap to seize the initiative. Hamilton dug deep, however, and as the clock counted out Ferrari’s fourth-placed Kimi Raikkonen, the three-time champion found enough pace to edge Rosberg by just under eight hundredths of a second.
“The car felt great. It’s quite incredible to think that we are quicker now to the V10 days. It just shows how far technology has come,” said Hamilton of the lap. “It’s obviously not been a smooth-sailing weekend in terms of pace. Nico’s been right on it all weekend and I was just generally struggling to put laps together,” he added. “Luckily the one lap I did put together was the last lap. That was actually the only lap probably the whole weekend so far. I hope that’s the first of many.”
Sebastian Vettel took third place for Ferrari, just under half a second off Rosberg’s pace.
Behind Raikkonen, Daniel Ricciardo took a solid fifth place for Red Bull Racing. His lap of 1:30.854 put him ahead of both Williams drivers and confirms that the Milton Keynes squad currently have the upper hand over the Grove outfit, at least with one car.
Ricciardo’s team-mate Daniil Kvyat scraped through to Q2 but couldn’t improve and was the first man out in second session that proved the most lacklustre of the three, with few drivers managing to get in ‘survival’ runs. Neither McLaren drove managed a second run, though Stoffel Vandoorne though, managed to edge McLaren team-mate Jenson Button, and Haas’ Esteban Gutierrez was also ruled out while sitting in the garage.
Nico Hulkenberg did manage to get in another hot lap, however, and with his team having timed his track time right, the German driver did his part by vaulting into P8 to secure the last place in Q3.
His success meant Romain Grosjean was ruled in P9 ahead of Toro Rosso’s Max Verstappen and Carlos Sainz.
In the opening phase of the session, the big casualty was Force India’s Sergio Perez, who qualified in 18thposition. The best performance of the opening segment came from Manor’s Pascal Wehrlein, who final hot lap in the session saw him climb from the bottom of the order to a very respectable P16. His time of 1:32.806 was 1.3s better than that of his 21st-placed team-mate Rio Haryanto.
Behind Wehrlein were Sauber’s Marcus Ericsson, the hapless Perez, Kevin Masgnussen of Renault – who completed just one run as a penalty means he will start from the pit lane tomorrow – team-mate Jolyon Palmer, Haryanto and Sauber’s Felipe Nasr.
2016 Bahrain Grand Prix – Qualifying
1 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:31.391 1:30.039 1.29.493
2 Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1:31.325 1:30.535 1:29.570
3 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 1:31.636 1:30.409 1:30.012
4 Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari 1:31.685 1:30.559 1:30.244
5 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull Racing 1:31.403 1:31.122 1:30.854
6 Valtteri Bottas Williams 1:31.672 1:30.931 1:31.153
7 Felipe Massa Williams 1:32.045 1:31.374 1:31.155
8 Nico Hulkenberg Force India 1:31.987 1:31.604 1:31.620
9 Romain Grosjean Haas Ferrari 1:32.005 1:31.756
10 Max Verstappen Toro Rosso 1:31.888 1:31.772
11 Carlos Sainz Toro Rosso 1:31.716 1:31.816
12 Stoffel Vandoorne McLaren 1:32.472 1:31.934
13 Esteban Gutierrez Haas 1:32.118 1:31.945
14 Jenson Button McLaren 1:31.976 1:31.998
15 Daniil Kvyat Red Bull Racing 1:32.559 1:32.241
16 Pascal Wehrlein Manor Racing 1:32.806
17 Marcus Ericsson Sauber 1:32.840
18 Sergio Perez Force India 1:32.911
19 Kevin Magnussen Renault 1:33.181
20 Jolyon Palmer Renault 1:33.438
21 Rio Haryanto Manor Racing 1:34.190
22 Felipe Nasr Sauber 1:34.388eom/FIA press release
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Rosberg wins season opener; Alonso safe after heavy crash
Melbourne, 20 March 2016: Mercedes bounced back from a poor race start to open its 2016 Formula One championship account with a one-two finish with Nico Rosberg victorious ahead of team-mate Lewis Hamilton. Sebastian Vettel, who led for a long spell after the start was third for Ferrari.After an aborted start caused by Daniil Kvyat’s Red Bull Racing car failing on the grid as the cars lined up, both Mercedes drivers made a poor getaway from the lights. The slow starts from pole position man Hamilton and front-row starter Rosberg, allowed third-on-the-grid Vettel to power through between the Mercedes men to steal the lead.
The duo were also passed by the second Ferrari of Kimi Raikkonen and as Hamilton struggled to get back into contention he was also passed by Rosberg, Toro Rosso’s Max Verstappen and Williams’ Felipe Massa. Behind Hamilton, Carlos Sainz was seventh in the second Toro Rosso ahead of Red Bull Racing’s Daniel Ricciardo.
Sainz kickstarted the first round of pitstops, with the top 10 qualified gradually making their way towards pit lane to shed their used supersoft tyres.
That moved Ricciardo up to P7 and with clear air ahead he soon closed on Massa and passed the Brazilian for P6 on lap 10.
Hamilton, meanwhile, was struggling. He found himself stuck behind Verstappen and was soon on the radio telling his team to consider a strategic adjustment as he could find no way past the Dutchman.
Ahead, the leaders were pitting. Rosberg dived for the pits on lap 13 and took on soft tyre. Vettel followed soon after but stuck with the supersoft rubber. He emerged from his stop just in front of Rosberg but managed to fight off a determined assault from his fellow German to hold the lead.
The complexion of the race was about to change drastically, however. On lap 17, Fernando Alonso, pressuring Esteban Gutierrez in the battle for P12, looked to overtake the Mexican on the run towards Turn 3. The Mexican’s trajectory shifted slightly and he appeared to dramatically lose speed, causing the hard-charging Alonso to smash into the rear left of the Haas.
Alonso was bounced into the wall at the side of the track and them after digging into the grass his car flipped and became airborne, flying through the gravel trap and beaching once before coming to rest upside down against the barriers.
It was a massive accident, but within seconds Alonso was crawling out from the beneath the record, apparently unharmed. He then waved to the crowd as he and Gutierrez climbed into the medical car.
With debris scattered across the track the race was red flagged and the drivers made their way back to the pit lane.
A flurry of activity ensued as teams reviewed strategies and plotted the next phase of the grand prix.
When the race resumed on lap 20, after lap behind the safety car, both Mercedes cars, in second and seventh, were on medium tyres, while the Ferraris, in first and third were on supersofts. Ricciardo who had risen to fourth was also on supersofts, ahead of Verstappen and Sainz. Behind seventh-placed Hamilton and Felipe Massa, Haas’ Romain Grosjean was the biggest beneficiary of the red flag, the Frenchman gaining a free stop and climbing to ninth.
There was little time to see if third-placed Raikkonen could once again challenge for second, however. On lap 22 the Finn arrowed towardsa the pit lane telling his team “I broke something”. He parked in front of the team’s pit and with smoke billowing from the back of the car and flames spouting from the air box, his race was run.
The race was now a question of whether Vettel could pull out a big enough gap over the medium-shod Mercedes to hold his lead or use better pace in the closing stages to catch them, as their medium tyres indicated they would race to the flag, whereas Vettel needed another stop.
Try as he might Vettel could not shake off Rosberg and when the Ferrari man made his final pit stop on lap 35 he dropped to third.
Hamilton meanwhile had battled back to second and though Vettel pressed the champion hard in the final stages, getting to within a second as Hamilton’s tyres went off and he slid wide, the German’s challenge for P2 ended when he made a mistake himself, sliding wide late on the penultimate lap. He was forced to settle for P3.
Rosberg, then, crossed the line to take his 15th career win and his Australian Grand Prix victory.
With Hamilton second ahead of Vettel, fourth place went to Ricciardo, an excellent finish from eighth on the grid and a hiugely popular result with his home crowd. Massa was fifth for Williams, while Grosjean scored a remarkable sixth place for the US-based Haas team on its F1 debut.
Nico Hulkenberg was seventh for Force India ahead of Valterri Bottas, while the final points places went to the Toro Rosso pairing of ninth-placed Carlos Sainz and Max Verstappen in P10. The duo provided a huge amount of entertainment as they conducted their own private battle for position throughout the race. Sainz succeeded in frustrating his team-mate at every turn to the extent that Verstappen’s temperature eventually boiled over and he launched a wild move late in the race which resulted in the pair colliding and Verstappen spinning. They continued on, however, to earn the team its first points of the season.
2016 Australian Grand Prix – Race
1 Nico Rosberg Mercedes 57 laps – 1h48m15.565s
2 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes +8.060
3 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari +9.643
4 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull Racing +24.330
5 Felipe Massa Williams +58.989
6 Romain Grosjean Haas +72.081
7 Nico Hulkenberg Force India +74.199
8 Valtteri Bottas Williams +75.153
9 Carlos Sainz Toro Rosso +75.680
10 Max Verstappen Toro Rosso +76.833
11 Jolyon Palmier Renault +83.399
12 Kevin Magnussen Renault +85.606
13 Sergio Perez Force India +91.699
14 Jenson Button McLaren +1 lap
15 Felipe Nasr Sauber +1 lap
16 Pascal Wehrlein Manor +1 lap
17 Marcus Ericsson Sauber DNF
18 Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari DNF
19 Rio Haryanto Manor DNF
20 Esteban Gutierrez Haas DNF
21 Fernando Alonso McLaren DNF
22 Daniil Kvyat Red Bull Racing DNSeom/FIA press release
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Rosberg ends the season with a dominant win; Cool Hami takes second followed by Raikkonen
Nico Rosberg took a third consecutive win with a dominant drive at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, beating world championship-winning team-mate Lewis Hamilton by a comfortable eight seconds as Kimi Räikkönen took third place ahead of Ferrari team-mate Sebastian Vettel, who rose from 15th on the grid to take fourth place.
Racing into the lead from pole position at the start, Rosberg was always in control and across his opening stint on used supersoft tyres he opened up a gap of almost five seconds to Hamilton in second place.
The Briton had to fend off challenges from Räikkönen and Force India’s fourth-on-the-grid Sergio Perez at the start but he soon settled into second place. Perez held his starting position ahead of team-mate Nico Hulkenberg and Red Bull Racing’s Daniel Ricciardo.
Further back Vettel was already making up ground, rising from 15th to 12th by the end of lap one, despite making contact with Max Verstappen’s Toro Rosso. Having started on the soft prime tyre , the German then briefly rose to second place as the supersoft starters around him began to pit, with Rosberg stopping on lap nine and Hamilton following his team-mate a lap later.
At the start of the second stint Roberg began to stretch his legs, broadening the gap to 7s but Hamilton then began to push, chopping two seconds off the deficit by lap 22 and then reducing it by a further 2.5s over the next few laps.
With Rosberg in more trouble with tyres than his team-mate Hamilton elected to extend the stint, hoping to keep up the momentum and erase the deficit as Rosberg’s pace dropped and he worked through his pit stop, which came at the end of lap 31.
The German switched to soft tyres and began to close on Hamilton in a bid to cover any decision by Hamilton’s crew to put the Briton on the more fragile but significantly faster supersoft tyres for his final stint. He eventually brought matters under control with a 10s gap to his team-mate with 15 laps remaining.
The threat of Hamilton on supersofts never materialized, however, and when the Briton made his final visit to pit lane he took on soft tyres and emerged 12s adrift of his team-mate. Rosberg then controlled matters until the chequered flag to finish 8.2s in front to claim his sixth win of the year and his third in a row.
Behind them Räikkönen ploughed a lonely furrow in third place, having got past team-mate Vettel as the German’s tyres faded towards the end of his first soft-tyre stint.
Vettel pitted on lap 24 for another set of softs and then with 15 laps to go the German switched to the quicker supesofts. The injection of pace allowed him to haul himself up to an excellent fourth place, passing Ricciardo and Perez in the closing stages.
Perez clung onto fifth ahead of Ricciardo, with Nico Hulkenber finishing seventh, ahead of Williams’ Felipe Massa.
Romain Grosjean, in his final race for Lotus, worked a three-strategy well to surge through to the points positions in the final stages and he finished ninth ahead of Red Bull Racing’s Daniil Kvyat.
Carlos Sainz’s race was hampered by a slow first pit stop and he finished in 11th place ahead of team-mate Verstappen. Jenson Button was 13th for McLaren, aherad of Williams’ Valtteri Bottas who collided with Button in the pits and was forced to make an additional stop as a result.
Marcus Ericsson beat team-mate Felipe Nasr to take P15, while Fernando Alonso was 17th, the Spaniard having collided with Lotus’ Pastor Maldonado at the start. Will Stevens beat Manor team-mate Roberto Merhi by taking 18th place.
2015 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix – Race
1 Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1:38:30.175
2 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes +8.271
3 Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari +19.430
4 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari +43.735
5 Sergio Perez Force India +63.952
6 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull Racing +65.010
7 Nico Hulkenberg Force India +93.618
8 Felipe Massa Williams +97.751
9 Romain Grosjean Lotus F1 Team +98.201
10 Daniil Kvyat Red Bull Racing +102.371
11 Carlos Sainz Jr. Toro Rosso +103.525
12 Max Verstappen Toro Rosso +1 lap
13 Jenson Button McLaren +1 lap
14 Valtteri Bottas Williams +1 lap
15 Marcus Ericsson Sauber +1 lap
16 Felipe Nasr Sauber +1 lap
17 Fernando Alonso McLaren +2 laps
18 Will Stevens Manor +2 laps
19 Roberto Merhi Manor +3 laps
R Pastor Maldonado Lotus Collisioneom/FIA press conference transcript
Rosberg takes the chequered flag at Abu Dhabi GP on Sunday. He won more races but a consistent Hamilton clinched the F1 title with many races to spare. FIA image -
Rosberg takes his sixth consecutive pole for Mercedes; Hamilton secures front row; Raikkonen p3
Nico Rosberg takes pole at Abu Dhabi on Saturday. An FIA Image Nico Robserg took his sixth consecutive pole position and his seventh of the season as he beat team-mate Lewis Hamilton by almost four tenths of a second in qualifying for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Kimi Raikkonen was third for Ferrari as team-mate Sebastian Vettel was sensationally eliminated in Q1.
The opening segment began with both Mercedes driver taking to the circuit on option tyres. Hamilton and Rosberg immediately vaulted to the top of the order, with the champion elect putting in a lap of 1:40.974 that remained as the segment’s best, 0.137 ahead of Rosberg.
Perez finished the session third ahead of team-mate Nico Hulkenberg and Red Bull Racing’s Daniel Ricciardo but as the session came to an end there was drama in the drop zone.
Fernando Alonso was on the cusp in P15 as the seconds ticked away but on his final flying lap he sustained a puncture and was forced back to the pits.
That gave team-mate Jenson Button an opportunity to claim a Q2 spot and the Briton seized it with both hand. He put in a superb lap of 1:42.570 to claim an eventual ninth in the segment.
Also preparing for a final attack was Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel. The German was down in 11th but with times improving all around he required a final run. However, midway through his lap he lost power in the second sector and as a result he plummeted to P16 in the final order and was eliminated in Q1 for the first time since this year’s Canadian Grand Prix when a power unit sidelined him.
With Vettel in P16 ahead of the unfortunate Alonso, the three other drivers eliminated, in order, were Sauber’s Marcus Ericsson and Manor’s Will Stevens and Roberto Merhi.
There were problems for other at the start of Q2. Lotus’ Romain Grosjean, who had finished Q1 in P10 was told to bring the car back to the garage. He managed to get back out for a last-ditch flying lap but as he made his way through his out lap he lost all power and was forced to pull over. He qualified in 15th place.
Joining Grosjean In the drop zone as the session came to an end were Toro Rosso’s Max Verstappen, Button, Lotus’ Pastor Maldonado and Sauber’s Felipe Nasr.
Verstappen was chasing down 10th place team-mate Sainz but the Spaniard was not for dislodging. He improved in the final corners of his final flyer and beat Verstappen to Q3 by just four hundredths of a second. It also handed Sainz the upper hand in the tight qualifying battle between the two, with the Spaniard ending the season 10-9 up against his rival. Button was 12th ahead of Maldonado and Nasr.
At the top, Hamilton was again quickest, his time of 1:40.758 was two tenths clear of Rosberg in second. Perez was again third, this time ahead of Raikkonen, with Daniel Ricciardo fifth.
Perez set the first time of Q3 with a lap of 1:41.184s but he was quickly dislodged by the Mercedes and it was Rosberg who again seized the advantage, with the German setting a time of 1:40.738, 0.278 ahead of Hamilton. Perez was an excellent third, 0.446 down on Rosberg after the first flying lap. Raikkonen was fourth ahead of Ricciardo, Williams’ Valtteri Bottas and Felipe Massa, Hulkenberg, Red Bull Racing’s Kvyat and Sainz, who did not set a time.
On the final flying lap it looked like Hamilton had found enough pace to claim his first pole position since the Italian Grand Prix as he set a time of 1:40.614 to marginally better his team-mate’s opener. Rosberg, though, was still on track and flying. The German made significant gains through his third sector and crossed the line almost four tenths clear of Hamilton to take his sixth pole position in a row and his seventh of the season.
Perez’s hopes of taking his first top three place in qualifying were dashed in the final seconds as he was outpaced by Raikkonen, while Ricciardo was fifth ahead of Bottas. Hulkenberg qualified in seventh position ahead of Massa and the final row of the top 10 is set to be filled by Kvyat and Sainz.
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Rosberg pips Hamilton, tops in FP2: Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, the last race of the season
Abu Dhabi, 27 Nov 2015: Nico Rosberg took over at the top of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix weekend timesheet, running just over a tenth of a second quicker than team-mate Lewis Hamilton, the fastest man from the early afternoon opening session.
Rosberg’s best time, set in the period of running on this weekend’s options supersoft tyres, was a
Rosberg tops FP2 on Fri 27nov2015 Abu Dhabi FIA pic 1:41.983. Hamilton set off on his qualifying style run after the German but fell short by 0.138s.
Sergio Perez took a surprise third place for Force India, though he best lap was six tenths down on Rosberg’s P1 time. Fourth place in the session went to Daniel Ricciardo with the Red Bull Racing drivers’ lap of 1:42.647 being just under a tenth of a second better than that of Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel.
Daniil Kvyat was sixth-quickest in the second Red Bull Racing car, the Russian finishing ahead of Ferraris Kimi Räikkönen and the second Force India of Nico Hulkenberg.
Fernando Alonso managed to haul his McLaren-Honda into the top 10 with a lap of 1:42.955 that was inside a second of Rosberg. Tenth placein the session went to Lotus’ Pastor Maldonado.
Unlike the mostly smooth running of first practice the evening session saw Carlos Sainz hit trouble. With half an hour remaining, the Spaniard was forced to stop his car on circuit with an apparent engine issue.
The main incident of the session came with 30 minutes to go, when Toro Rosso’s Carlos Sainz was forced to stop his car due to an apparent engine problem.
Perez’s good evening also came to an early end with the Mexican bowing out with brake issues with 15 minutes left on the clock.
2015 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix – Free Practice 2
1 Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1:41.983 39
2 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:42.121 +0.138 31
3 Sergio Perez Force India 1:42.610 +0.627 23
4 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull Racing 1:42.647 +0.664 37
5 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 1:42.717 +0.734 35
6 Daniil Kvyat Red Bull Racing 1:42.798 +0.815 34
7 Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari 1:42.849 +0.866 36
8 Nico Hulkenberg Force India 1:42.928 +0.945 35
9 Fernando Alonso McLaren 1:42.955 +0.972 31
10 Pastor Maldonado Lotus F1 Team 1:43.431 +1.448 37
11 Valtteri Bottas Williams 1:43.441 +1.458 32
12 Felipe Massa Williams 1:43.506 +1.523 33
13 Max Verstappen Toro Rosso 1:43.662 +1.679 40
14 Carlos Sainz Jr. Toro Rosso 1:43.854 +1.871 20
15 Romain Grosjean Lotus F1 Team 1:43.929 +1.946 27
16 Jenson Button McLaren 1:44.050 +2.067 32
17 Felipe Nasr Sauber 1:44.116 +2.133 37
18 Marcus Ericsson Sauber 1:45.245 +3.262 28
19 Will Stevens Manor 1:46.450 +4.467 35
20 Roberto Merhi Manor 1:47.022 +5.039 27eom/FIA press release
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Rosberg wins Brazilian GP; Hulkenberg takes 6th, seals 5th place for Force India
Nico Rosberg took a second consecutive Brazilian Grand Prix win with a controlled drive from pole position, beating Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton to the flag by 7.7 seconds. Sebastian Vettel took a relatively lonely third place, finishing 6.4s behind Hamilton and more than 30 seconds in front of team-mate Kimi Raikkonen.
Last year Rosberg had put in a flawless performance to keep his title hopes alive until the final race of the season and while there was only pride and second place to battle for this year in Interlagos, Rosberg was again similarly inspired as he comfortably held off Hamilton at the start and then controlled matters for the following 71 laps.
With Rosberg making a good getaway when the lights went out to hold of Hamilton, Vettel and Raikkonen maintained their starting positions of third and fourth.
Behind them, Williams’ Valtteri Bottas made an excellent start from seventh to slot into fifth ahead of Red Bull’s Daniil Kvyat and Force India’s Nico Hulkenberg, who had dropped back from fifth on the grid. Felipe Massa was eighth ahead of Sergio Perez in the second Force India and Toro Rosso’s Max Verstappen.
Further back, Carlos Sainz was in trouble. The Spaniard had been set to start from 10th place but on his way to the grid he suffered a mechanical issue and had to start from the pit lane. However, within seconds of him taking to the track he was pulling over to stop between Turns Four and Five, his all-too-brief race run.
Ricciardo was the first to shed his starting soft tyres, the Australian making a very early stop on lap four to take on medium tyres.
Hulkenberg was the next in and he used his stop well, utilising his laps on fresh tyres to make up time and when Kvyat pitted on lap 10, the German flashed past the Russian as the Red Bull made its way to the pit lane exit.
Leader Rosberg pitted on lap 13, with Vettel following his compatriot to the pit lane. Rosberg’s stop was slow though, 4.4s. Hamilton took his turn on the following lap. The Briton also took on medium tyres in a 3.6s stop.
The eight tenths of a second bonus wasn’t enough to get Hamilton past his team-mate. However, as the pair crossed the line on the following lap the champion was just 0.9s behind his team-mate and within DRS range.
Behind them, the order after the first round of stops saw Vettel in third place, 4.3s behind Hamilton, with Raikkonen fourth ahead of Bottas. Lotus’ Pastor Maldonado had climbed to sixth but the Venezuelan had started on medium tyres and had yet to make his first stop. Hulkenberg was now seventh ahead of Kvyat and Massa, while Perez was now 10th. Toro Rosso’s Max Verstappen was now in P11 ahead of Lotus’ Romain Grosjean and Ricciardo who had climbed to P13 from P19 on the grid.
Maldonado was soon losing ground on his ageing medium tyres and by lap 23 he had been passed by Hulkenberg, Kvyat and Massa and was down in P9 and losing almost a second a lap to 10th-placed Perez. It was too much of a deficit and on lap 25 the Venezuelan duly pitted, taking on more mediums. He rejoined in P17.
At the front, Rosberg was under pressure. Hamilton closed to 0.6s behind the German in the laps after their stops but the German kept his cool and responded, breaking DRS on lap 25 and pushing the gap out to 1.1s. It widened further, to 1.6s, as Hamilton temporarily backed out of the fight to possibly save tyres in the hope of stretching the stint longer than Rosberg to have fresher tyres for another assault in the closing stages.
Ricciardo made his second stop, from P12, for another set of mediums, on lap 28. He was followed a lap later by Sebastian Vettel, who took on the soft tyre in a bid to put pressure on the Mercedes.
Rosberg then made his second stop for more mediums on lap 33 and as he did so Hamilton’s race engineer was swiftly on the radio, calmly telling the champion that is was now ‘hammer time’.
The Briton had a lap to do it but when he emerged after his stop Raikkonen, who had yet to make his second visit to the pit lane, was powering past and into his way. Hamilton took no prisoners, however, and swept past the Finn on the pit straight at the end of the lap to take second. He was now 3.1s behind Rosberg.
Vettel was setting fastest laps on his soft tyres, up to a second quicker than the Mercedes, but as the tyres quickly degraded his pace faded and his times against his rivals began to even out, with the Mercedes on fresher mediums.
After the second stops Rosberg led on lap 45 by 3.2s over Hamilton with Vettel a further six seconds back. Raikkonen was fourth, though the Finn had yet to make his second stop. He was almost 10 seconds adrift of Vettel and losing chunks of time but with almost 44 seconds in hand over fifth-placed Bottas, Raikkonen could afford to keep nursing his aged medium tyres in the hope of needing just two stops. Hulkenberg was now sixth but being pressured by Kvyat. Massa was now eighth ahead of Grosjean and Verstappen
The Finn finally stopped on lap 46, taking on another set of mediums, with which he hoped to reach the end of the race. He was soon followed by Vettel on lap 48, the German shedding his soft tyres for mediums for his final stint.
Rosberg made his third and final stop on lap 48 taking on medium tyres and Hamilton made his final stop on lap 49, the champion also bolting on the medium compound. His swift response to Rosberg’s stopped seemed to indicate that any plan to go long in the stint had been abandoned.
Hamilton attempted to again put pressure on Rosberg but in doing so he suffered a huge lock-up on lap 56. He quickly reported that he felt he had damaged the floor. His times didn’t reflect it but the gap to Rosberg now began to stabilise by the time the leaders were 120 laps from home, the Briton was 2.7s in arrears to his team-mate.
Vettel, meanwhile, was a lonely third, 12.3s behind Hamilton and 23.7s ahead of fourth-placed team-mate Raikkonen. The Finn too was isolated on track, with the Finn sitting 24 seconds ahead of compatriot Bottas. Hulkenberg was a steady sixth, 1.2s ahead of Kvyat, while Massa was eighth ahead of the Lotus cars of Grosjean and Maldonado.
Two-stopping Maldonado, was under pressure from Verstappen, however, and after harrying the Venezuelan for several laps the Dutch teenager closed on the Lotus in the middle sector of lap 67 and despite the Lotus’ Mercedes power, Verstappen was able to pass under DRS down the inside into Turn One of the following tour and take P10.
And that was how the order remained as three laps later Rosberg crossed the line to take his 13th career victory, 7.7s ahead of Hamilton, with Vettel third. Rosberg’s wins mean he takes an unassailable second position in the Drivers’ Championship, with the German now 31 points ahead of Vettel.
2015 Brazilian Grand Prix – Race
1 Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1:31:09.090
2 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes +7.700
3 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari +14.200
4 Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari +47.500
5 Valtteri Bottas Williams +1 lap
6 Nico Hulkenberg Force India +1 lap
7 Daniil Kvyat Red Bull Racing +1 lap
8 Felipe Massa Williams +1 lap
9 Romain Grosjean Lotus F1 Team +1 lap
10 Max Verstappen Toro Rosso +1 lap
11 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull Racing +1 lap
12 Pastor Maldonado Lotus F1 Team +1 lap
13 Sergio Perez Force India +1 lap
14 Felipe Nasr Sauber +1 lap
15 Jenson Button McLaren +1 lap
16 Fernando Alonso McLaren +1 lap
17 Marcus Ericsson Sauber +2 laps
18 Will Stevens Manor +4 laps
19 Alexander Rossi Manor +4 laps
R Carlos Sainz Jr. Toro Rossoeom/FIA press release
Nico Rosberg on way to victory in Brazil on Sunday. An FIA image -
Great to be here in Mexico, Nico Rosberg after taking pole
DRI
Hamilton, Rosberg (centre ), who took Pole position and Vettel (right) at the Press Conference on Saturday. An FIA image VERS
1 – Nico ROSBERG (Mercedes)
2 – Lewis HAMILTON (Mercedes)
3 – Sebastian VETTEL (Ferrari)TV UNILATERAL
Nico, first of all congratulations, your fourth pole in a row. Qualifying is proving very strong for you at the moment, what was the key today?
Nico ROSBERG: I don’t really have a precise explanation. I just felt good all weekend. I’ve been quick in all different sessions and found a good balance in qualifying. So thanks to my engineers in the team I was able to push and got a really good lap in.Thank you. Lewis, if I can come to you. You looked good in Q2, you were on top in Q2, but that 50th pole is proving tricky. Were there any mistakes in Q3 on your final lap?
Lewis HAMILTON: Not really, no. This weekend Nico has been quick and I’ve just been chipping away at it. There were a couple of moments where the car felt pretty spectacular but otherwise generally there are some areas where, for sure, I could improve both in my driving and also with the set-up. But we have quite a bit of a different set-up this weekend, so perhaps the avenue I went might not be the perfect one for qualifying but it’ll be good for the race.Thank you. Sebastian, you tried everything, [but] Mercedes [were] too quick today. Was the drop in temperature in that final session a factor at all for you?
Sebastian VETTEL: I don’t think so. In the end we were hoping for it to be a bit closer but in the end it wasn’t. I think already already in Q2, in Q1 to be fair, with the hard tyre they looked very, very quick, so it was difficult. I tried everything. I was very happy with the first attempt in Q3. On the second one I probably pushing too hard and I didn’t go any faster. Yeah, I don’t think it is fair to blame it on the conditions or the track. In the end they were just a sniff too quick. But who knows what happens tomorrow. Seems to be a fun circuit. Finally it starts to rubber in a bit. Yesterday it was very slippery. It’s good fun and it’s nice to see so many people coming, so I think it should be exciting for all of us tomorrow.Thank you. Nico, returning to you, how do you turn this into a win tomorrow and how badly do you want it to turn into a win tomorrow?
NR: It’s a good start, for sure, starting from pole. It’s going to be a long run down to turn one, so it’s going to be an exciting battle. Then I’m sure we have a good race car. It will be interesting tyre-wise. There was some stuff going on on Friday, which is going to be not so easy to handle in the race but we’re prepared well, so looking forward to it.PRESS CONFERENCE
Q: Nico, congratulations, you’ve looked comfortable all weekend, it this ‘Angry Nico’ fighting back?
NR: No, definitely not. There’s no difference, it’s attack like always. It’s three more races to go, great to be here in Mexico, great track, I really enjoy driving here, so business as usual.Q: Lewis, P2 hasn’t proved too much of a problem for you in recent times, there’s a very long run down to Turn One as well. Is that your target for the race tomorrow?
LH: Actually coming into the weekend it’s one of the best spots to start, second or third because it’s a long, long way down to Turn One. Just as in Russia. I don’t know if it’s longer than Russia but I’m quite happy with my spot. As you’ve said, the races have always been proved to be quite good ones for me so I’m excited for tomorrow and, yeah…Q: Sebastian, it’s looked close this weekend. Did you think pole was on?
SV: Well, now we’ve just finished qualifying… no! If we talk about another tenth I think it’s always normal for us to say “yeah, one-tenth here or there, could have squeezed a bit more,” but I was reasonably happy with my lap and I think we were missing four-tenths in the end so the gap was probably too big. We have to be fair and say congratulations to Nico who drove a very good qualifying and put in a very strong lap.QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR
Q: (Luigi Perna – La Gazzetta dello Sport) Question for Seb. In your opinion, it will be possible tomorrow to match Mercedes considering your race pace especially with medium tyres?
SV: Well, I can’t predict what’s going to happen but usually we’re always a bit stronger, compared to them, in the race. As Nico touched on with the tyres, could be crucial tomorrow, the circuit is very slippery and I expect it to be slippery again. There might be some rain overnight so might be a bit of a reset for the track. To answer your question, we will have to wait and see tomorrow – but I hope so.Q: (Michael Schmidt – Auto, Motor und Sport) What happened at the end of qualifying, because everybody seemed to be slower than before?
NR: I was a tenth off my (best) lap, I think, so it was a good lap, just not as good as the previous one.
SV: Sounds like a good excuse! I did the same, I was a tenth off, it was a good lap, just not as good as before.
LH: Yeah, I just wasn’t quicker on that lap.Q: (Christopher Joseph – Chicane) To all of you, we touched on altitude on Thursday. I just wondered if you’re feeling any physical effects after qualifying and in general, out and about in Mexico City?
LH: No issues, it’s tough out there as usual and it will be interesting for the race tomorrow for sure with the altitude. It does make a difference. And otherwise, so far I’ve had the best time here, I had the best tacos last night and I’m going to go back and have them again tonight and tomorrow night and probably the next night as well. I’m enjoying my stay.
NR: The only time I felt it was running round the track where for sure I had a higher heart rate on Thursday but in the car, not really, it’s been fine.
SV: I think it’s fine, we have a very very long straight to rest so that helps. Other than that, I think it’s great for us, it’s exciting, a lot of people. I think the size of the grandstands here seem to be at least double to other places and still full so it makes it very special for us.Q: (Livio Oricchio – Globo Esporte) Lewis and Nico, there’s no way not to ask you (this question) considering what we saw in the last few races; will there be any conversation between you both considering the start tomorrow?
NR: It’s no different, you know, it’s always going to be a battle and what’s in the past is in the past and now we move forward, it doesn’t change.
LH: The same as he’s just said.
SV: Can you make sure you take both of you out so I can go through? Yes? No? I tried. -
Hamilton claims third World Championship with three rounds to spare at Austin; Perez 6th
Austin, 25 October 2015: Lewis Hamilton claimed his third Formula One World Championship title with victory in an incident-packed United States Grand Prix that saw the Briton’s Mercedes’ team-mate Nico Rosberg take second place ahead of Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel.
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.
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 on lap 38, 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.
Rosaberg 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.
2015 United States Grand Prix – Race
1 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:50:52.703
2 Nico Rosberg Mercedes +2.850
3 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari +3.381
4 Max Verstappen Toro Rosso +22.359
5 Sergio Perez Force India +24.413
6 Carlos Sainz Jr. Toro Rosso +25.619
7 Jenson Button McLaren +28.058
8 Pastor Maldonado Team Lotus +32.273
9 Felipe Nasr Sauber +40.257
10 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull Racing +53.371
11 Fernando Alonso McLaren +54.816
12 Alexander Rossi Manor +1:15.277
R Daniil Kvyat Red Bull Racing
R Nico Hulkenberg Force India
R Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari
R Marcus Ericsson Sauber
R Felipe Massa Williams
R Romain Grosjean Team Lotus
R Valtteri Bottas Williams
R Will Stevens ManorHamilton celebrates after winning the third World title with three rounds to spare at the USGP in Austin on Sunday. An FIA image
