F1: Hamilton must wait as Raikkonen wins in US

F1: Hamilton must wait as Raikkonen wins in US

It was a case of so close yet so far as Mercedes diver Lewis Hamilton’s dream of sealing his fifth F1 championship will have to wait. In an exciting and dramatic race at Austin, Hamilton managed to finish third, one place ahead of his closest championship rival Sebastian Vettel. The hero of the weekend was old war horse Kimi Raikonnen who won his first F-1 race in five years.  Red Bull diver Max Verstappen took the second position. Hamilton, though, managed to increase his lead over Vettel and is now 70 points ahead of the Ferrari driver.

Whirlwind start by Raikkonen

Hamilton started from pole but had to surrender his place to Kimi in the first lap. The flying Finn made excellent use of the softer tyres while Hamilton made excellent use of the virtual safety car period and pitted in the 11^th lap. Kimi stayed ahead but in a matter of just eight laps Hamilton was on his tail once again.

Battle in the pits

Hamilton then managed to open up a gap over Raikkonen after the Ferrari driver made his pit stop. While Hamilton led, it was getting clear that the Mercedes diver’s tyres were giving way and another pit stop was the need of the hour. However Mercedes team tried to keep Hamilton on the track and by the time Hamilton came in for a new set of tyres, his advantage seemed to have slipped away. Hamilton now joined the race and had to battle against heavy traffic as he raced towards Kimi.

Exciting finish

Hamilton tried hard to close the gap between him and the two leaders ahead but the horse seemed to have bolted. The Briton tried hard to go past Verstappen but could not find his way past the Dutchman. Kimi Raikkonen was the first to the chequered flag. This was his first race win since March 2013 when he won as a Lotus driver. Vestappen was close second while Hamilton came in third.

Vettel blunders again

Meanwhile Hamilton’s closest rival Sebastian Vettel had another bad day at the office. The German diver started the race in fifth place due to a three place penalty handed to him. In his over enthusiasm Vettel got into a tangle with Red Bull’s second diver Daniel Ricciardo in the opening lap itself. Vettel was so far behind that it seemed that Hamilton would take the championship anyway. However lady luck smiled on Vettel towards the end as he managed to get past Bottas to take fourth place.

Focus shifts to Mexico

Hamilton will now aim to win the championship in Mexico. The Mercedes diver needs to score five more points than Vettel to become the second most decorated diver in the history of Formula-1.

from SportsFlashes.com https://ift.tt/2PMXpbs