The US Grand Prix is going to begin in the next few hours and it’s back with the sprint race weekend, a first great opportunity for the drivers to check the conditions as they are.
But this year’s race at COTA is going to very crucial for deciding the winner of the Drivers’ Championship as well as the Constructors’ Championship. It may just throw things completely out of the usual narrative that has, of lately, been authorised by McLaren and with great ambition and effort. Either Red Bull will be rendered another blow that’ll derail their chances this year or McLaren will find menacing competition from the likes of the other two front runners but forces who’ve of lately trailed the papaya liveried machine: Red Bull and Ferrari too, would be gunning for a win.
Source– F1 Destinations (Twitter/X)
But let’s face a fact. The US GP has always been a thrilling race in the F1 calendar. The track has been specially designed to enhance the viewers’ pleasure and also increase the challenge for the drivers.
Lets take a look at the most memorable past races at COTA
Three races stand out, the 2012 US GP, 2018 US GP, and the most recent 2021 US GP.
2012 US Grand Prix
The year is 2012, Hamilton is going to leave McLaren for Mercedes by the end of this year. Sebastian Vettel is on a two championship win streak, about win his third. Its the US GP, and Sebastian Vettel has qualified on Pole.
The race started and Hamilton was on Vettel’s tail right from the start, but was overtaken by Webber in the first lap. Hamilton finally overtook Webber in the DRS zone in Lap 4, and set his eyes on the German leading the race.
Vettel defended beautifully till lap 42, where Sir Lewis Hamilton snatched the lead from him, in the DRS zone. From there on, Sir Lewis lead the race and won his last race driving for McLaren.
2018 US Grand Prix
The 2018 Grand Prix at the COTA circuit saw the very intense battle between the 7 time world champion and the soon to be world champion Max Verstappen.
Source– Twitter / X
Qualifying placed Sir Lewis Hamilton at Pole, with Vettel following behind, who was given a grid penalty for not stopping during a red flag and bumped down to 5th. Kimi Raikkonen, the Iceman, was given P2 instead.
The race started and Raikkonen showed great skill in overtaking Hamilton right at turn 1. That was the turning point of the race for Hamilton.
Multiple collisions at the start of the race caused a yellow flag, but Raikkonen was already ahead.
Hamilton seized an opportunity to pit when Daniel Ricciardo caused a yellow flag, while the Iceman stayed out on the track.
Kimi Raikkonen decide that he had had enough with his current tires and pitted in Lap 21, giving the lead to Hamilton, but Hamilton’s lead was short lived as he had to pit again in lap 38, coming out behind Vettel and Max Verstappen.
Hamilton overtook Vettel but Verstappen proved to big a hurdle for Lewis to jump over. Verstappen had the fire of youth and the rage to win, so defended with all his might.
The Iceman won the race and ended his 114 winless race streak with a “F’ing finally” said over the team radio, as Max Verstappen came in behind him, followed by an enraged Hamilton.
2021 US Grand Prix
Source– FIA
2021 is widely considered as the most controversial championship year in Formula 1’s history because of the decision of the Race Director in the last race of the year.
Max Verstappen and Sir Lewis Hamilton are fighting with all their strength and skill to win the championship. Hamilton stands to win his 8th World Championship, breaking the great Michael Schumacher’s record of championships won, and his own. While Mad Max, stands to win his first ever championship.
The US Grand Prix rolls around and Verstappen qualifies on Pole, with Hamilton just behind him and Sergio Perez coming in third. The race started and Hamilton took a page out of the Iceman’s book, Sir Lewis overtook Verstappen at turn 1, like Raikkonenhad done back in 2018.
Sadly, for Hamilton, Verstappen undercut him by pitting in lap 11, while Hamilton pitted in Lap 14. Hamilton eased into first place as Verstappen pit in Lap 29, but that was short-lived as Hamilton had to pit in Lap 37, and Verstappen took the lead of the race. Over the radio, Hamilton was told that the race would come down to the last 3 Laps.
The gap between Max And Lewis began decreasing as Max came up to the backmarkers of the race on Lap 41. For the last 5 Laps, Hamilton had Max in every DRS zone. But Max Verstappen found pace where there was none and kept the 7 time world champion behind him, finishing the race with a lead of 1.3 seconds and eking out a lead of 12 points in the championship.
What this year’s US GP brings us?
Source– RNZ
This year, Max Verstappen and Lando Norris are fighting for the championship , with Charles Leclerc close behind Norris. While McLaren have just overtaken Red Bull in the Constructors’ Championship. Ferrari is just 34 points away from Red Bull, and Leclerc is just 34 points away from Norris.
The most interesting fact is that the US Grand Prix is a Sprint Weekend, which means that the total points up for grabs are 34. What’s left to be seen is who shall take the victory and the lead in the Driver’s and Constructors’ Championships.