Lewis Hamilton clinches his third World Drivers' Championship in thrilling United States Grand Prix with Nico Rosberg completing a historic Silver Arrows 1-2.
Lewis took his 10th win of the season, the 43rd of his Formula One career, en route to sealing his third World Drivers' Championship crown. The result sees Lewis become the 10th driver to win three or more titles and the only Briton to successfully defend his crown. Today also saw Lewis become the first driver to claim ten or more victories in consecutive seasons. Nico Rosberg finished second to clinch his 12th podium of the season and 38th of his Formula One career. The result marks the 25th 1-2 finish for the Silver Arrows in Formula One and the 50th for Mercedes-Benz power. Both drivers started on intermediate tyres, with each pitting twice for option (soft) compound slicks. Mercedes AMG Petronas now lead Ferrari by 200 points in the Constructors' Championship.
Toto Wolff, Head of Mercedes-Benz Motorsport: First of all, a huge congratulations to Lewis. He has driven like a Champion all season and now rightly takes his place in a special group with a third title. I have no doubt there is more to come from him, so if we can keep delivering a car that is capable of doing the job then anything is possible for him. For Nico is has been an unlucky year in many ways. But he has shown his fighting spirit once again today and that will not change in the seasons to come. Looking back at today, we saw a fantastic race from start to finish and I hope that everybody watching was as entertained as we were - particularly the people in the grandstands who braved the weather this weekend. On the pit wall it was a very difficult race to manage, with so many decisions to make and so many marginal calls with the safety cars. We tried to play it fair and square as we always have done and perhaps not every call was the right one. But in the end Lewis had the World Champion's luck on his side and when you drive the way he has done this season you earn that luck. The first corner was certainly a tense moment and Nico was clearly not happy. It's never going to happen that a driver is completely happy to see a rival winning. But we have three races left and it's crucial that we don't allow today's incident to have further consequences. We will go away, have a few days of cooling off, and then talk. Looking ahead, we have three races still to go. I have never been in that situation where everything is comfortable and I can sit back and enjoy the race as a fan, so I'm looking forward to seeing our two drivers fight flat out with nothing to lose.
Paddy Lowe, Executive Director (Technical): What a day! Massive congratulations first and foremost to Lewis. A third World Championship is a great credit to all the hard work he has put in not only this season but over a fantastic Formula One career to date. It is very much deserved and I think he can rightly stake his claim as a legend of the sport. At the same time, all credit to Nico today. He's had a tough season in terms of luck but has kept pushing throughout. He drove superbly today and, bar one small mistake which handed Lewis the lead, would surely have won the race. It's been an emotional day - not just for Lewis and the team but also for the sport. We saw a truly incredible race - one of the most exciting for many years - which atoned for what had been a pretty grim weekend. The fans here in Austin have been fantastic despite the conditions and very much deserved the entertainment we saw today as a reward for their dedication.
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Christian Horner, Team Principal: "During the first half of the race the performance of our cars looked really encouraging. We were very competitive on the intermediate tyres, which allowed Ricciardo to take the lead and build on it, before we made a double stop, bringing both cars in together. The mechanics worked very well to turn them round with Kvyat in third place. So we looked in good shape at that point, but unfortunately, our pace on the dry tyres was simply not as competitive as the Mercedes and the Ferrari. In particular, we struggled to get the tyres up to temperature at the re-starts, especially after the second Safety Car period. After that, our race unravelled with Daniil's accident, which caused the final Safety Car. Daniel was involved in a collision with Sainz and that meant he needed a further pit stop, after which he fought back to grab the last available point on the last lap. A disappointing finish after a strong start. Finally, congratulations to Lewis Hamilton on defending his World Championship title, the first British driver to do that. He's a deserving champion."
Matthieu Dubois, Renault: "It was a hard work for a single point in the end and far from what we expected after qualifying with both cars on the second row. However, there are some positives to take out of this very wet weekend: firstly all four Renault-powered cars raced reliably from an engine point of view, and we congratulate our sister team for their fourth-placed finish. Secondly we managed to put on a good show and gave Mercedes a run for their money during the early stages of the race. Lastly there is no reason why the performance shown during the first half of the race cannot be repeated to achieve much better next week in Mexico."
Felipe and Valtteri both retired from the United States Grand Prix with damper failures. Both cars suffered contact in separate incidents at the first corner. Valtteri gambled on dry tyres when pitting for repairs but retired shortly afterwards. Felipe fought his way back up to 10th after his spin at the first corner, but was forced to retire on lap 24. Congratulations to Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes on securing the Drivers' Championship.
Rob Smedley, Head of Performance Engineering: A truly disappointing weekend for us to finish with no points. Valtteri was very quickly into retirement from a rear suspension failure. Felipe had good pace on the intermediate, we stopped him to fit the dry tyre and things were looking positive until he retired with the same problem. It's bitterly disappointing, but there are three races to go and we have to bounce back to extend that gap to Red Bull. Mexico is a new circuit for everybody, the team has to remain positive and do the absolute best that we can. And finally congratulations to Lewis Hamilton for his third world championship.
Maurizio Arrivabene: "Today we have seen how strong the team has been all weekend, being capable of reacting so well, notwithstanding the postponing of the qualifying session and knowing that we would have to take a penalty anyway. Seb did another fantastic race, taking a podium finish after starting from P13 on the grid. This result helped us secure second place in the Constructors' championship! We had a very good strategy today, gambling on the Prime tires to go all the way to the end when the Safety Car came out on lap 27; then we had another caution period and we fitted the Options. Before that second Safety Car period, we had hoped for an even better result, but the Safety Car is part of the game. As for Kimi, I appreciated to see him fight to make it back to the track after hitting the barrier: this fully shows our team spirit. Now the championship goes on, and we need to stay focused with humility and determination, trying to consolidate our position in the Drivers' Championship. Congratulations to Lewis for winning the title."
In tricky damp-but-drying conditions, Jenson Button drove a strategically perfect United States Grand Prix to finish seventh at the flag. A 5s penalty applied to Carlos Sainz subsequently moved him up to sixth - his best finish of the 2015 season.
Jenson was one of the very first drivers successfully to make the Option tyre work on the drying track, a move that helped push him into the top 10. His second stop - under the Safety Car - consolidated his position; but it was Jenson's risky call to make a third and final stop, to stem the onset of graining, that shored-up his race. From fifth, he dropped to eighth, but battled back to sixth by virtue of the fresher rubber.
Fernando Alonso's race started unpromisingly: he was pitched into a spin by Felipe Massa as the pack turned in to Turn One on the first lap. After limping back to the pits to fit a fresh set of Inters, he dropped to the back of the grid, one minute adrift of the lead pack.
It was only once the Safety Car had been deployed to retrieve Marcus Ericsson's stricken Sauber that Fernando was able to get back into the race. He unlapped himself, latched onto the back of the pack and quickly started to attack.
From there, he pushed his way into the top five - before suffering a sudden loss of power, caused by a possible fuel-system sensor failure that dropped him back down the field before it could be cured with a switch change. On the last lap, he lost 10th position to Daniel Ricciardo. He finished 11th - 1.5s outside the points.
Eric Boullier, Racing director, McLaren-Honda: "We at McLaren are not in the habit of celebrating minor places - but Jenson's run to sixth today is one of our best results of the season so far and on that basis we can be happy if not satisfied, if you see what I mean.
"As ever in topsy-turvy races such as today's, Jenson mastered the conditions adroitly, staying out of trouble despite the treacherous conditions and moving calmly through the field, conserving his tyres where necessary, and bagging us a very valuable eight world championship points as a result.
"Through no fault of his own, Fernando had a rather more eventful race, but, even so, he drove superbly and failed by only a very narrow margin to score points himself.
"Our mechanics never put a foot wrong all weekend, and, despite the complexities caused by the changeable weather, our engineers and strategists also did an excellent job all afternoon. Well done, guys.
"As we've been saying throughout the year, we know we've got a lot of work still to do, but it's clear that we're making progress, together with Honda, and that's encouraging for us all.
"We'll be on track again in just five days' time, in Mexico City, so let's hope we can build on today's result when we get there.
"Finally, I want to take this opportunity to say 'well done' to Lewis, who still has many friends at Woking who remember his six seasons as a McLaren driver very fondly. Winning three world championships is a mighty impressive achievement - and, in annexing title number three today, he's become only the sixth driver to have scored a world championship hat-trick, joining Jack Brabham, Jackie Stewart, Niki Lauda, Nelson Piquet and of course Ayrton Senna, who won all his world championships for McLaren.
"Bravo, Lewis!"
Yasuhisa Arai, Honda R&D senior managing officer - chief officer of motorsport: "We didn't have much luck with the weather this weekend, which severely limited our running time, but I think the results we gained today were the outcome of good teamwork to set up the power unit and chassis in such a short time. It was a great collaborative effort of the two drivers, pit-work and race strategies.
"Fernando's car had been fairly competitive through most of the race, thanks to a combination of his skills and the new Spec 4 engine, which performed to our expectations throughout the weekend.
"However, we think he temporarily lost power due to a possible injector issue - which was rectified before the end of the race. We'll need to investigate further to confirm the situation. Needless to say, we are very disappointed that he lost precious points positions because of this issue.
"We now head straight to Mexico, where we will focus and use the next few days to prepare the engines and analyse data to be ready."
Sahara Force India scored ten points in today's United States Grand Prix with Sergio Perez finishing the race in a strong fifth place. Teammate Nico Hulkenberg was out of luck as he retired on lap 35 after contact with Daniel Ricciardo.
Vijay Mallya, Team Principal & Managing Director: "Formula One delivered a fantastic spectacle today, which is just what the fans deserved after suffering through such rainy weather for most of the weekend. The racing was sensational and both Force Indias were up at the front and looking very competitive. Sergio delivered another very mature performance - staying out of trouble and letting the race come to him. Those ten points help to strengthen our hold on fifth place in the standings with just three races to go. Nico was unlucky to retire after the contact with Daniel [Ricciardo] and it's certainly a missed opportunity because he was showing excellent pace. We will make sure he's ready to bounce back next week in Mexico, which is going to be a hugely important and busy week for everyone in the team."
Franz Tost (Team Principal): "First of all I would like to congratulate Lewis Hamilton for his third World Championship title, which is really well deserved! As for our performance here this weekend, because of some technical issues in yesterday's free practice session and because of the rain this weekend, our drivers, who had little or no experience at this track, were not able to do many laps before the race. I must say that Max did an extraordinary job. Today's qualifying session was the first time that he could properly drive here and to get into Q3 shows his great skills. His race was also really good: after the start he was immediately fighting with the Ferrari's and other rivals and he was able to keep his position, crossing the line in fourth position, without making one single mistake during the 56-lap race. Carlos also did a fantastic job, recovering very quickly after his accident in qualifying this morning. He went from P20 to P11 in only one lap and he was able to keep this position and overtake a few more cars in front of him. Unfortunately he had a problem during one of his pit-stops with the rear-right wheel nut and then he got a five-second penalty for speeding in the pit-lane. We then called him in once more to put on the new Option tyres which gave him the chance to do plenty of overtakes at the end of the race... And ended in a very good sixth position, which then became a P7 after the penalty. I'd like to congratulate both drivers for the great job. We must not forget that this was their first ever race weekend here. I must also say that the engineers and the strategists worked really well, as the strategy worked out just as we expected it to, and once more the STR10 showed its potential. After this amazing result, I'm really looking forward to the next three races and I'd like to congratulate the whole team for all the effort put in this weekend - it definitely paid off! Finally, I'd like to say that today's race was a really interesting one from start to finish. It was great to see the Red Bulls fighting for the lead and actually running in P1 for some time, as well as Sebastian Vettel closing the gap. I think that these fights between different teams for the victory is what Formula 1 needs, it's something we all enjoy!"
Cedrik Staudohar (Renault Sport F1 track support leader): "What a great race after such an amazing weekend. This morning's session didn't go according to plan but we knew that anything was possible this afternoon. For the last couple of races we have seen that the reliability has been there and it was crucial today. Everything was under control with our power units through the race, and it's a great reward for everyone including the guys at the factory to score so many points. We can't wait to race again in one week time in Mexico."
Pastor Maldonado finished eighth in a highly eventful United States Grand Prix whilst Romain Grosjean retired from the race because of damage sustained to his car at the first corner. The Grand Prix started wet with a dry line emerging through the race. There were a number of safety car periods of both virtual and real iterations.
Romain started from P10 on the grid on new intermediate tyres. He pitted at the end of lap one for new intermediate tyres, then lap 9 for new soft tyres. He retired at the end of lap 10 as a consequence of the lap one damage. Pastor started from P12 on new intermediate tyres, changing to new intermediates on lap 18 then new softs on laps 27 and 43.
Federico Gastaldi, Deputy Team Principal: "Firstly congratulations to Lewis Hamilton, a deserving world champion who took his title in the best way possible. He and the entire Mercedes AMG F1 team have done a fantastic job this year. It was an unfortunate day for Romain as his race was ended so early through no fault of his own. Pastor secured a good top ten finish which adds to our points tally. After a tough build-up to the race Formula 1 put on a great spectacle at the Circuit of the Americas so we thank everyone in Austin for all their efforts. I'm sure we're all hoping for better weather next year!"
Alan Permane, Trackside Operations Director: "It was an eventful race but we weren't able to capitalise on all the opportunities. Unfortunately we had to retire Romain very early as his rear floor and brake cooling was damaged in the contact at the first corner. We tried to keep racing but it wasn't safe to continue. Pastor scored useful points but we weren't able to fight higher unfortunately."
In the United States Grand Prix the Sauber F1 Team was fortunate to have scored two world championship points in what was an exciting and eventful 400th Grand Prix for it. Felipe Nasr finished in P9. Marcus Ericsson was unlucky as his Sauber C34-Ferrari stopped on track due to an electrical failure.
The result of Sunday morning's postponed qualifying for the United States Grand Prix was disappointing. Marcus Ericsson and Felipe Nasr finished in P16 and P17, as both struggled to get the wet tyres to work properly in these conditions. Due to other drivers' penalties, Ericsson and Nasr started the race from P14 and P15.
Monisha Kaltenborn, Team Principal: "We can absolutely not be satisfied with this weekend. It is not an excuse that one driver did not know the track before and we were not able to run many laps here. Almost everything that should not happen during a race happened. The result is fortunate, but we cannot count just on luck in the future."
Alexander Rossi equalled the Manor Marussia F1 Team‘s best finish of the 2015 season today, taking the chequered flag on his home debut in 12th position after a very impressive drive.
They say every setback has a major comeback, and after a fraught few days for race-goers and TV audiences, the 2015 Formula 1 United States Grand Prix delivered a spectacular race today, arguably the best this season.
Will Stevens was not so fortunate, however. The opening lap was predictably scrappy and despite making an excellent start, he was struck from behind by his team-mate in the Turn 1 melée, which punctured Will's left rear and broke his rear wing. At the same time, Alexander picked up a damaged front wing and also sustained a puncture, to his right front tyre, but he was at least able to continue the race. Unfortunately, Will's race was run within one lap.
John Booth, Team Principal: "I'm thrilled for Alexander, the team and the American fans in equal measure, as this is a fantastic result after a challenging weekend. Today we saw Formula 1 racing at its absolute best. In the end this was easily the most exciting Grand Prix of the season and that's exactly what Circuit of The Americas race-goers needed. Obviously the race got off to a more difficult start and in the predicted mayhem of Turn 1 on the opening lap, our two drivers had a coming together. Sadly, Will sustained too much damage to continue, and he is naturally very disappointed. I think we would have seen another exciting battle between team-mates today as they both had the bit between their teeth. Nonetheless, we're happy to have at least one good finish and credit to Alexander for recovering well from that incident and a very determined performance. Finally, I'd like to congratulate Lewis Hamilton, an incredibly deserving winner of the Drivers' Championship and a good friend."
Lewis Hamilton has won the United States Grand Prix and the 2015 World Championship, following an action-packed race that went from wet to dry conditions. All the drivers started on new intermediates, waiting for the right crossover point when the track would be dry enough to move onto slicks. Both Hamilton and his team mate Nico Rosberg, who finished second, completed one opening stint on the intermediates followed by two stints on the soft tyre.
The timing of the pit stops proved to be the key to victory, with the pit wall and drivers having to make tactical calls despite no dry running before the start, which deprived the teams of the usual tyre wear and degradation information.
Two safety cars (as well as two virtual safety cars) shaped the strategy, with Hamilton stopping during the second safety car period - just before the finish - but not during the first safety car period, earlier in the race.
Those who stopped during the first safety car period looked like they had an advantage, but the second safety car period eliminated a large part of that, by allowing those who hadn't yet stopped to do so while containing the pit lane time loss.
Hamilton emerged from his second and final pit stop in second place, but used the speed advantage of his fresh P Zero Yellow soft tyres to claim the lead from Rosberg, who had started from pole following the qualifying session this morning.
The highest-placed three-stopper was Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel, who ended up on the podium. Vettel made his second stop onto the medium tyres, rather than the soft tyre used by his direct rivals. However, he then made a third stop during the final safety car, at the same time as Hamilton, having started from 13th on the grid.
With the race start held in wet conditions, there wasn't the usual obligation to run both slick compounds. Most drivers chose to use the faster soft tyre throughout the dry part of the race, but Vettel was the first of the frontrunners to use the more durable medium.
Force India's Sergio Perez was the only driver to make the intermediate-soft-medium strategy work, finishing fifth after stopping twice. The Mexican finished ahead of McLaren's Jenson Button and Toro Rosso driver Carlos Sainz, who went from last following an off in qualifying to sixth at the race finish: also stopping three times. The highest number of pit stops was completed by Sauber's Felipe Nasr, who was in the pits five times but still finished in a points-scoring ninth.
Paul Hembery: "After several delays and washouts, we finally got the race we had been waiting for, where the wet conditions at the start added another fascinating tactical variable rather than just being an impediment to the action. As was inevitable with no dry running before the start, the teams had to read and react to the changing situation rather than rely on prior information, so it was the drivers who were able to work with their teams best under these challenging circumstances who won out. Congratulations to Lewis for a well earned third championship title, after a brilliant season. Right to the end, the final outcome of this grand prix was unclear, ensuring a thrilling finale to the race that the fans deserved most of all, after a weekend that is certainly going to be very memorable..."
Truth-O-Meter
We predicted a two-stopper as being the best option for this 56-lap race, but it was hard to predict the exact way that this was going to happen due to a lack of dry running data before the start. Hamilton did indeed stop twice, starting on the intermediates and taking the soft tyres on laps 18 and 43: with a similar strategy adopted by Rosberg.
