An utterly deserving sixth driver’s title for Mercedes ace Lewis Hamilton, another emphatic victory for his teammate Valtteri Bottas, and a tenth career podium for Ferrari’s young rising force Charles Leclerc- there were countless talking points from the 2019 US Grand Prix.
While there was also some agony for Ferrari in the form of Sebastian Vettel’s DNF, there was ecstasy for a team and driver that have given so much to the sport, decorating the suspenseful and dramatic contest with utter brilliance and memorable triumphs.
The 60th anniversary of the United States Grand Prix ensured a mouth-watering feast for motorsports lovers, bringing fans a key result all had desperately awaited; Lewis picking yet another driver’s title and proving once again, why he’s so highly rated. But it wasn’t before Valtteri Bottas, among the fiercest competitors on the grid, went on to clinch his seventh race win.
That said what were the 5 talking points from the 2019 US Grand Prix?
A letdown for Sebastian Vettel
For a driver who began the Grand Prix stacked in the second-best place on the grid- P2- to enduring an incident-marked race, Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel had what might one call a forgettable race.
Vettel hadn’t even reached the halfway stage of the 56-lap contest when he ended up with a DNF thanks to a major suspension failure in his SF90.
Trying desperately hard to make up for a torrid start that saw him drop down to P8 from P2, a position of dominance, Vettel endured the suspension failure toward the Turn 8 exit kerbs.
But in the immediate aftermath of the contest, he declared that he wasn’t too sure as to where and how severely he hit his car for him to retire. At the end of the day, what remained of Sebastian was a confused and dejected man but he showed mighty chivalry for being the first to reach Lewis Hamilton in a bid to congratulate the world champion.
Valtteri Bottas proves his class
The permutations and combinations at the US Grand Prix were simple and pretty uncomplicated. All Hamilton had to do was to finish P8 or P9 (with the fastest lap) to clinch the crown. But his teammate made it clear that he was going to drive for pride and for a win. And that’s exactly what the Finnish talent did.
While he could only drive one car, having any effect on Hamilton’s race being out of the question, Valtteri must be congratulated for driving a clinically controlled race that saw him gather his seventh career win and his fourth this year.
Bottas won the race from pole position and gave crowds a lot to cheer about as thanks to his efforts Mercedes captured yet another 1-2 finish.
He can proud of giving his very best and exiting Texas with 25 strong points in his kitty.
Brilliant drive from Kimi Raikkonen
Kimi Raikkonen was quite the man in the thick of things in the battle amid the best of the grid in the first half of the season. Quick and focused, Raikkonen didn’t cut a corner in giving the likes of much younger drivers such as Magnussen, Perez, Norris, and Kvyat a run for their money in the first half of the season.
But the concluding part of the contest left a lot to be desired from the Finn. At the US Grand Prix, he was out-qualified by Giovinazzi for the eighth time this season.
It didn’t make for a pretty sight to see Raikkonen beginning his American challenge from seventeenth on the grid.
But within seconds from the start, Raikkonen was a changed man, a force of nature, someone who was determined to make amends. He made four places inside the opening lap and by as early as Lap 5, was comfortably contesting inside the top ten. Showing how to make the softer tyres work, Kimi was on the go in an excellent first stint that saw the Iceman register some memorable passes on the likes of the two Haas and Toro Rosso’s Daniil Kvyat.
When Gasly in his Toro Rosso pitted later in the race, Raikkonen moved up onto ninth. Later, Kimi would be passed by the Renault of Hulkenberg and would eventually finish on eleventh.
Still, beginning from P17, Kimi demonstrated a keenness to improve and finished six places up on P11 and therefore, made for among the big talking points from the 2019 US Grand Prix.
Alex Albon: The driver of the day
One of the biggest talking points from the 2019 US Grand Prix was the brilliant recovery drive that Thai-British driver Alex Albon demonstrated in finishing as high up the grid as he did at the end of the day. A sensational P5 after finding himself constricted for space right inside the opening lap, after he was sandwiched by the Ferrari of Leclerc and Sainz’ McLaren in the run down to turn 1 that caused him some damage meant that Albon had a clear task cut out for him.
It was to drive fiercely and drive for all his life after he effectively became a backmarker post the opening lap skirmish, which truth be told wasn’t really down to anyone’s fault.
But despite being pushed to the rear end of the field, Albon continued his excellent recovery and at the end of the contest made nearly 14 to 15 overtakes in finishing fifth at the end of the 56 laps.
Daniel Ricciardo proves his class again
One of the most important talking points from the 2019 US Grand Prix albeit also one of the unsung moments, it must be said, was Daniel Ricciardo’s impressive performance, an effort that saw him outpace Hulkenberg, the more experienced man at Renault yet again.
Right from the start, Ricciardo was quick and on the go. He enjoyed some brilliant battles with Lando Norris, in particular, whom he began to hunt down right from the start of Lap 4.
It could be said, on the main straights, the pace of the Renault was just enough to match the McLaren’s superiority.
Later on, Ricciardo even passed Hulkenberg and seemed the more attacked of the two Renault drivers. His late lunge on Daniil Kvyat was typical of the Australian driver’s gritty style of driving. Ricciardo collected 8 strong points through his P6. After the disappointing results at Russia and Japan, it appears that Ricciardo has picked himself strongly once again through an impressive P8 in Mexico and now, his sixth at Texas.