Already a three-time past winner of the United States Grand Prix in Austin, Texas, Lewis Hamilton proved Saturday afternoon at the Circuit of the Americas, that he has a chance to win his fourth and catch teammate Nico Rosberg in the standings by clocking a 1:34:999 circuit record lap for Sunday’s race. Rosberg himself took second, while Daniel Ricciardo was third.
“I feel amazing.” Hamilton happily stated afterwards. “After so many years of trying and a lot of people have helped me, so I am very happy. I would like to say a big thanks to all the crowd, as I could hear them in the background cheering as I came across the line. The energy from that slow down lap was much appreciated, and I hope that tomorrow we can all provide a great race.”
Hamilton had not been up into the top position for most of the weekend by only taking practice one on Friday and never remained up into the top three. But Hamilton rebounded on Saturday afternoon by taking the opening session and being in the top three in the second, just a few tenths behind second session winner Riccardo. But Hamilton was not done yet, and following Rosberg who finished his final lap of the last session, Hamilton, who was right behind him on the track, responded by not only defeating his teammate with a better time, but good enough to break the course record.
Jenson Button’s chances were dashed in the opening session, as the McLaren driver finished a disappointing 19th when Jolyon Palmer Renault got in his way on the final turn. Romain Grosjean and Esteban Gutierrez had a disappointing day for the American Haas F1 Team as both failed to advance in the first and second sessions, respectively.
Max Verstappen, who took the fastest time in the morning practice session, could do no better than fourth, while the Ferrari duo of Kimi Raikkonen and Sebastian Vettel finished in fifth and sixth. Nico Hulkenberg, who will be driving for Renault next season, took seventh, while the Williams entries of Valterri Bottas and Felipe Massa finished eighth and ninth, respectively. Carlos Sainz Jr. rounded up the top 10.
For Hamilton, who is 33 points behind Rosberg, nothing could improve his chances for a fourth title then a win on Sunday. But Hamilton has had poor starts in certain races. However, Hamilton himself feels that he has improved on this situation.
“Of course I feel positive.” He said. “I think, I have worked hard a couple of weeks understanding lots of areas, but it is a great feeling. It has been a while since I sat in this box, and I very much appreciate it, and I will prepare for tomorrow.”
Mark Gero has written formula one racing stories since 2002 on the Internet for such sites as Motorsport.com, Racing Information Service News and for a brief time at the Munich Eye newspaper in Munich, Germany along with Autoweek online. Mark also has a diploma in journalism from the London School of Journalism in London, England and in addition a Bachelor’s degree in Journalism and Mass Communication from Ashford University in Clinton, Iowa.