Grand Prix 2019 United States Grand Prix Practice, Qualifying & Race Discussion

The title rumbles on the US gp after Bottas grabbed that podium and managed to hold Hamilton off from taking it in Mexico. It's more than likely going to be won here, all Hamilton has to do is finish 7th and he's the champion no matter what Bottas does as I understand it. We can all likely expect some yeehaws if that happens!

In the 48 times the USA grand prix has been raced it's been done over 10 different locations, the current one being Austin in Texas. Well, the track isn't actually in Austin, it's like with those budget airlines that promise to take you to places and dump you in a smaller airport miles away. The track is actually 12 miles outside of the city to the south of it. Whether the good people of Austin are happy about having an F1 race in their back yard I can't tell you, but that is where the race is currently held.

As the capital of the Lone Star State, Austin is a busy place with lots of attractions to offer. They have everything from museums, cinemas, bowling alleys, shopping, music festivals, fabulous buildings to admire and lots of sports along with some open topped double decker buses that wouldn't look out of place on a London street giving you tours around the city. They even have a museum of weird things and a graffiti park. But what is the one thing Austin is also famous for that links it to F1? Liquid gold, a.k.a. Oil.

Austin has had it's share of the oil boom. There have been over 300 companies attracted to the area which employ a lot of local residents that is obviously very good news for them, indeed one oil company worked with The University Of Texas in Austin as part of a fellowship program and invested $5 million in their graduate students. It's big business, so you could say that having an F1 race there is a perfect fit. As times change and oil is increasingly seen as a dirty product, part of the old way of doing things and people move to cleaner and greener energy choices, how much longer will the oil they have made their fortunes on be a viable option there or anywhere else you have to wonder?

Of the seven times the race has been run here Hamilton has won five with Vettel and Raikkonen takings the honours on the other two occasions. Austin is known for being one of the friendliest cities around and the atmosphere there is apparently second to none. However the US gp has struggled with funding, much like many other races in the series. Funding cuts by the government have hit hard, attendance figures dropped and the race was reportedly teetering on the edge of being off the calendar altogether. Then in 2016 they had a good battle between Hamilton and Rosberg for the title, great weather and Taylor Swift, attendance numbers were up and they had their second best ever crowd of just shy of 270,000 people through the turnstiles. In 2017 numbers were up again, this time Bill Clinton handed over the winner's trophy and Justin Timberlake (or as he's known in our house Justin Trousersnake) performed and drew in the crowds. In 2018 it was Justin's ex Britney Spears along with Bruno Mars who headlined. This year if the racing isn't your thing you can enjoy concerts by P!nk and Imagine Dragons or if you do like the racing but can't be there in person, US fans will be treated to free Sky Sports coverage on ESPN and ABC.

In 2018 your pole sitter was Hamilton and your podium was 1st Raikkonen, 2nd Vertsappen, 3rd Hamilton.
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Back in Austin, the butler won the battle but the Lord of the Manor won the war. Many congratulations to Lewis Hamilton but I can't help but feel as underwhelmed by this as I did about many of Michael Schumacher's titles. My apologies to Hammy fans, I don't mean this in a disrespectful way, nor to denigrate his achievements. I wish some of the other teams and drivers would step up and make the sport more competitive.
 
FB I will say Ferrari should have stepped up but they keep shooting themselves in the foot with some strange and indecisive pit stop calls and their own infighting let them down

Bottas - V2.0 was not good enough and got blown away

Verstappen and Red Bull - I think Honda's so called progress is masked by the excellent Red Bull chassis - how long will it be before Red Bull turn on them ?

Mclaren - it was a bit too much to expect them to be front runners even if they had Alonso in the car they would still struggle to make the podium

Renault - The off field issues with Ghosn must have had some effect on the team but still unlike previous incarnations this Renault team has not improved

Williams - :o:sMon dieu -
 
i posted my thoughts on lewis Hamilton thread because they got quite long & felt right place for them but as put there i agree with FB maybe this would be his least remembered title as the others were more important & this maybe an anti climax, because we known he will be a 6 time world champion for 4 months now just waiting for confirmation. he didn't reach the heights of 2018 where he was untouchable & driving better than I had ever seen anyone where you think wow in italy & singapore but he didn't have to. as Bottas improved but i think it was Lewis coming off the peak that made it closer that seemed

on the race i dont really know what to say. pretty dreadful worst race since french gp. nobody was equal on pace. Bottas was best driver nobody could trouble him, Verstappen was faster than Lewis & Lone Ferrari was nowhere. so everyone was equally spaced out & making any battle at the front non existent. Ferrari pace which is the biggest mystery going to brazil what happened to there pace it was like hungary the last time they were comfortably 3rd best team. opening few laps wouldve stunned a few as they were dropping like a stone. this ferrari loss of power all weekend doesnt help the rumours after FIA issuing technical directive on fuel flow
 
Ruslan it seems the FIA are somewhat in agreement and a change in the rules may happen.

I noted that. Thanks. Good that they are taking action. There does seem to be a revitalized spirit in F1, where they actually are trying to address and correct things. The FIA rules have always been a little overly restrictive and a little too much all or nothing.
 
I don't think that Ferrari are at their best in the cold, they seem have problems getting heat into the tyres. But didn't Leclerc get the fastest lap?

they did but i feel that was a thing. they had a pitstop gap so went for extra point. it something for me to research of how many fastest laps have gone to fastest car not someone going for qualifying lap

but coldness could be a factor. but the race was 28c track & warmest it had been all weekend
 
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