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2012 United States Thoughts

THE BIG PICTURE: Whether F1 needs the USA and/or the USA needs F1 has always been open to debate. But, one thing is for sure, it's a lot more fun for all involved when the two do have each other.

EVENT: The USGP may have finally found its permanent home. A purpose built facility, a perfectly run event, and a massive crowd all bode well for F1 remaining in the United States of America.

QUALIFYING: The surprise obviously wasn't Vettel winning pole. The surprise was his domination in practice did not come out in qualifying. Hamilton staying close was a foreshadowing for the race.

RACE: Like Abu Dhabi, the race was a lot racier than many thought would occur. Passing at all different locations and a great battle for the lead left the huge throngs buzzing after the race.

TRACK: Hermann Tilke got it right ... at least by Tilke standards. And for the fans, it's one of the best tracks to watch a race from.

START: Vettel is perfect again, Webber doesn't blow it from the grippy side, Hamilton was hopeless from the slick side, Alonso is amazing, Schumacher dropped like a lead balloon, and most surprisingly it was clean through Turn 1.

HAMILTON: Perhaps his best performance of the year. Lewis was fast, aggressive, determined, and patient. All the ingredients for a victory.

BUTTON: Meanwhile, Jenson's two moves, one quick -- one taking a lot of work -- on the Lotus cars were great to watch.

MCLAREN: They had the race setup, if not the qualifying speed.

VETTEL: Though Sebastian didn't give in, he played it smart by not getting too involved with Hamilton and grabbed valuable points.

WEBBER: Failed to protect his teammate, but the alternator made that a moot point.

RED BULL: Won the Constructor's Title. One down, one to go.

ALONSO: Got the most of what he could out of the Ferrari. But in the end, they didn't have an answer for Red Bull and Vettel.

MASSA: Another strong race for a revitalized Felipe.

FERRARI: Questionably sporting or not, it was a brilliant move to incur a gearbox "change" penalty. The question now is, did they open Pandora's Box?

RAIKKONEN: Started out strong, but Kimi's car faded as the race wore on.

GROSJEAN: Romain was very fast throughout the weekend, but still susceptible to mistakes.

LOTUS: They were off most of the weekend.

HULKENBERG: A strong weekend for Nico...

DI RESTA: ...While Paul was completely outclassed by his teammate.

SENNA: Not a bad weekend for Bruno even if he got snookered by his teammate at the end.

MALDONADO: Gave his team quite the scare when he dive bombed Senna in the nearly impossible to pass Turn 1.

ROSBERG: Running well early on, but that was it for Nico's weekend.

SCHUMACHER: Had the setup for qualifying which was a total failure for the race.

MERCEDES: Must be instilling loads of confidence in Hamilton...

RICCIARDO: Ran a strong race after such a poor qualifying effort.

PEREZ: Not the type of race Sergio was hoping for in front of his "home" fans.

KOBAYASHI: Despite Kamui's confidence, he may be done in F1.

FIA: One way to help prevent future gearbox "failures" is to make the grid penalty an even number.

HRT: No grip. No brakes. No speed. And pretty soon, no team.

WORD OF THE WEEKEND: Awesome.

STAT OF THE WEEKEND: 13 -- The number of points separating the championship contenders heading into the final race.

HISTORICAL STAT OF THE WEEKEND: Lewis Hamilton is added to the list of drivers who have won the USGP on two different venues -- some in the same year -- the last being Ayrton Senna (Detroit three times, Phoenix twice). However, only one driver has ever won on three different venues. Alan Jones won at Watkins Glen (1980), Long Beach (1981), and Las Vegas (1981). They were all consecutive.

QUOTE OF THE WEEKEND: Lewis Hamilton on the Circuit of the Americas, "There were a couple of grands prix that are somehow out on their own: there's Monaco, Silverstone, Montreal, Spa, and Monza. Now you can add this circuit to that list - it's already one of the best racetracks in the world, maybe even right up there in the top three."

QUOTE OF THE WEEKEND RUNNERUP: Damon Hill on the Ferrari gearbox decision, "It's a very strange sport where you can gain an advantage by sabotaging a team member."

SCHEDULE: Onto F1 crazed Brazil to settle this year once and for all.

Copyright © 2012 by Deep Throttle. All Rights Reserved.



RACE RESULTS
  Driver Laps
1. Hamilton 56
2. Vettel 56
3. Alonso 56
4. Massa 56
5. Button 56
6. Raikkonen 56
7. Grosjean 56
8. Hulkenberg 56
9. Maldonado 56
10. Senna 56
11. Perez 56
12. Ricciardo 56
13. Rosberg 56
14. Kobayashi 55
15. di Resta 55
16. Schumacher 55
17. Petrov 55
18. Kovalainen 55
19. Glock 55
20. Pic(R) 54
21. de la Rosa 54
22. Karthikeyan 54
R Webber 16
R Vergne(R) 14

Time of Race
1:35:55.269

Margin of Victory
0.675 sec.

Safety Car
None

Lead Changes
1 among 2 drivers

Lap Leaders
Sebastian Vettel, Lewis Hamilton

Fastest Race Lap
Sebastian Vettel

Pole Position
Sebastian Vettel

CURRENT STANDINGS
  Driver Pts.
1. Vettel 273
2. Alonso 260
3. Raikkonen 206
4. Hamilton 190
5. Webber 167
6. Button 163
7. Massa 107
8. Grosjean 96
9. Rosberg 93
10. Perez 66
11. Kobayashi 58
12. Hulkenberg 53
13. di Resta 46
14. Maldonado 45
15. Schumacher 43
16. Senna 31
17. Vergne(R) 12
18. Ricciardo 10

  Team Pts.
1. Red Bull 440
2. Ferrari 367
3. McLaren 353
4. Lotus 302
5. Mercedes 136
6. Sauber 124
7. Force India 99
8. Williams 76
9. Toro Rosso 22
 
 

2024 Thoughts
Bahrain Saudi Arabia Australia Japan
China Miami Emilia Romagna Monaco
Canada Spain Austria Great Britain
Hungary Belgium Holland Italy
Azerbaijan Singapore United States Mexico City
Sao Paulo Las Vegas Qatar Abu Dhabi

2023 Thoughts
Bahrain Saudi Arabia Australia Azerbaijan
Miami Emilia Romagna Monaco Spain
Canada Austria Great Britain Hungary
Belgium Holland Italy Singapore
Japan Qatar United States Mexico City
Sao Paulo Las Vegas Abu Dhabi

2022 Thoughts
Bahrain Saudi Arabia Australia Emilia Romagna
Miami Spain Monaco Azerbaijan
Canada Great Britain Austria France
Hungary Belgium Holland Italy
Singapore Japan United States
Mexico City Sao Paulo Abu Dhabi

2021 Thoughts
Bahrain Emilia Romagna Portugal Spain Monaco
Azerbaijan France Steiermark Austria Great Britain
Hungary Belgium Holland Italy
Russia Turkey United States Mexico City
Sao Paulo Qatar Saudi Arabia Abu Dhabi

2020 Thoughts
Austria Steiermark Hungary Great Britain Anniversary
Spain Belgium Italy Tuscany
Russia Eifel Portugal Emilia Romagna
Turkey Bahrain Sakhir Abu Dhabi

2019 Thoughts
Australia Bahrain China Azerbaijan Spain
Monaco Canada France Austria
Great Britain Germany Hungary Belgium
Italy Singapore Russia Japan
Mexico United States Brazil Abu Dhabi

2018 Thoughts
Australia Bahrain China Azerbaijan Spain
Monaco Canada France Austria
Great Britain Germany Hungary Belgium
Italy Singapore Russia Japan
United States Mexico Brazil Abu Dhabi

2017 Thoughts
Australia China Bahrain Russia
Spain Monaco Canada Azerbaijan
Austria Great Britain Hungary Belgium
Italy Singapore Malaysia Japan
United States Mexico Brazil Abu Dhabi

2016 Thoughts
Australia Bahrain China Russia Spain
Monaco Canada Europe Austria
Great Britain Hungary Germany Belgium
Italy Singapore Malaysia Japan
United States Mexico Brazil Abu Dhabi

2015 Thoughts
Australia Malaysia China Bahrain
Spain Monaco Canada Austria
Great Britain Hungary Belgium Italy
Singapore Japan Russia United States
Mexico Brazil Abu Dhabi

2014 Thoughts
Australia Malaysia Bahrain China
Spain Monaco Canada Austria
Great Britain Germany Hungary Belgium
Italy Singapore Japan Russia
United States Brazil Abu Dhabi

2013 Thoughts
Australia Malaysia China Bahrain
Spain Monaco Canada Great Britain
Germany Hungary Belgium Italy
Singapore South Korea Japan India
Abu Dhabi United States Brazil

2012 Thoughts
Australia Malaysia China Bahrain
Spain Monaco Canada Europe
Great Britain Germany Hungary Belgium
Italy Singapore Japan South Korea
India Abu Dhabi United States Brazil

2011 Thoughts
Australia Malaysia China Turkey
Spain Monaco Canada Europe
Great Britain Germany Hungary Belgium
Italy Singapore Japan South Korea
India Abu Dhabi Brazil

2010 Thoughts
Bahrain Australia Malaysia China
Spain Monaco Turkey Canada
Europe Great Britain Germany Hungary
Belgium Italy Singapore Japan
South Korea Brazil Abu Dhabi

2009 Thoughts
Australia Malaysia China Bahrain
Spain Monaco Turkey Great Britain
Germany Hungary Europe
Belgium Italy Singapore
Japan Brazil Abu Dhabi


Archived CART/Champ Car Thoughts
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