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2019 United States Thoughts

THE BIG PICTURE: Formula 1 is always a fascinating case of technology. If Ferrari did what some think they did, it was a brilliant -- even if illegal -- use of EMI to mess with the fuel flow sensors. Of course they deny it. But when the FIA clarification directive is followed by Ferrari losing top end speed -- exactly the benefit many believe they got from this -- it's a bit too much to be a coincidence.

EVENT: Another bonanza attendance mark. And the Dallas Cheerleaders were there again, so all was right with the event.

TRACK: Us folks in the northern regions of America, especially the Northeast and Midwest, are well acquainted with bumpy tracks thanks to permafrost. Of course, it wasn't permafrost but sinking (sinking!) that has troubled COTA. Nonetheless, to see COTA suffer a bumpy fate is bizarre.

QUALIFYING: Bottas claims his first front row spot at COTA as nobody could beat his first lap, Vettel just barely misses, Verstappen can't make a revenge statement, Hamilton is way off, McLaren is strong, Alfa Romeo is disappointing, and hey Stroll makes it to Q2.

RACE: Another interesting strategy battle, but this time an intra-team one. While the midpack fought furiously for every position.

START: Bottas leaves the fighters in the dust, Verstappen wastes no time, Hamilton pulls off an incredible move, Norris is brilliant, Sainz and Albon are the first turn victims, and Ferrari falls off a cliff.

HAMILTON: Hail the champion. Six times. Mind boggling we are seeing another Michael Schumacher feat in our lifetime. And do you think the Queen will finally knight him?

BOTTAS: Never qualified on the front row at COTA. Never finished in the top four at COTA. Until he claimed pole and won the race this year.

MERCEDES: Six driver titles. Six constructor titles. In six years. The greatest F1 team dynasty in history.

VERSTAPPEN: Max behaved himself and when he does, he sure is good.

ALBON: Another solid drive ... again from the back. If Red Bull was looking to replace Alexander next year, who could it possibly be? Looks like it's his drive to keep in 2020.

RED BULL: For a team that once got caught on fuel flow irregularities, they sure knew what they were looking for with Ferrari.

LECLERC: Charles had nothing for the front runners.

VETTEL: Say what you want about Sebastian. He is quite the sportsman. Last year, he went into the Mercedes garage personally congratulating every member of the Silver Arrows team. This year, he hung around after his DNF and went up to the cooldown room to personally congratulate Hamilton.

FERRARI: Whether Ferarri will ever admit it or not, assuming they can figure it out, one has to wonder if Vettel's car was broken before the start. It was also obvious the suspension gave way in the fateful trip through Turn 9 long before Vettel went wide, which the failure caused him to do.

RICCIARDO: Drove like the Daniel we love.

HULKENBERG: Riding out his F1 career.

RENAULT: Nice comeback after the disaster of the last few races.

NORRIS: Back to having a good race.

SAINZ: Ditto.

MCLAREN: Ditto squared.

KVYAT: The only thing missing this week from Daniil punting another driver off the track on the last lap was him screaming how the FIA is ruining racing.

PEREZ: This week's torpedo victim.

GIOVINAZZI: Antonio gets to keep his ride for next year. Mainly because Ferrari has a say in that seat, and quite frankly, they have nobody else available to fill the seat. It's not like Giovinazzi is the future of Ferrari.

SKY SPORTS: It was hysterical watching the Sky Sports commentators fumble through their ignorance trying to figure out what the "XII" meant on Daniel Ricciardo's tribute helmet to the University of Texas Longhorns.

WORD OF THE WEEKEND: Six.

STAT OF THE WEEKEND: 1,000 -- Formula 1 has had 1,016 races. In 1,000 of them, a British driver took part. Only 16 were devoid of a British driver.

HISTORICAL STAT OF THE WEEKEND: The first time a driver clinched the title in America was at the first USGP in 1959 at Sebring (coincidentally, considered to be the bumpiest track in the world). It was the last race of the season on December 12, a perfect date for Florida. Jack Brabham in a Cooper-Climax clinched the title despite running out of gas. He had to push the car over the finish line for fourth place, enough points to beat out Tony Brooks who finished third. Bruce McLaren won the race, becoming at the time the youngest GP winner. Part of his purse was a parcel of land adjoining Sebring Lake.

QUOTE OF THE WEEKEND: Lewis Hamilton saying what all his competitors fear, "As an athlete I feel fresh as can be right now."

QUOTE OF THE WEEKEND RUNNERUP: The Sky Sports commentator who responded to Lewis Hamilton complaining on the radio that COTA is the bumpiest track in the world, "No. Sebring is. Until you've race at Sebring, you don't know what bumpy is."

SCHEDULE: The championships have been decided. Now, we just race for fun. Which can sometimes mean more fun and excitement.

Copyright © 2019 by Deep Throttle. All Rights Reserved.



RACE RESULTS
  Driver Laps
1. Bottas 56
2. Hamilton 56
3. Verstappen 56
4. Leclerc 56
5. Albon(R) 56
6. Ricciardo 56
7. Norris(R) 56
8. Sainz 55
9. Hulkenberg 55
10. Perez 55
11. Raikkonen 55
12. Kvyat 55
13. Stroll 55
14. Giovinazzi(R) 55
15. Grosjean 55
16. Gasly 54
17. Russell(R) 54
18. Magnussen 52
NC Kubica 31
NC Vettel 7

Time of Race
1:33:55.653

Margin of Victory
4.148 sec.

Safety Car
None

Lead Changes
4 among 2 drivers

Lap Leaders
Valtteri Bottas, Lewis Hamilton

Fastest Race Lap
Charles Leclerc

Pole Position
Valtteri Bottas

CURRENT STANDINGS
  Driver Pts.
1. Hamilton 381
2. Bottas 314
3. Leclerc 249
4. Verstappen 235
5. Vettel 230
6. Albon(R) 84
7. Sainz 80
8. Gasly 77
9. Ricciardo 46
10. Perez 44
11. Norris(R) 41
12. Hulkenberg 37
13. Kvyat 34
14. Raikkonen 31
15. Stroll 21
16. Magnussen 20
17. Grosjean 8
18. Giovinazzi(R) 4
19. Kubica 1

  Team Pts.
1. Mercedes 695
2. Ferrari 479
3. Red Bull 366
4. McLaren 121
5. Renault 83
6. Racing Point 65
7. Toro Rosso 64
8. Alfa Romeo 35
9. Haas 28
10. Williams 1
 
 

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


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