With 17 races in 2018 season Grand Prix already behind us, we will be looking at the 18th race of the season, United States Grand Prix.
United States Grand Prix is a motor race that has been held in the USA since 1908, and it was formerly known as the American Grand Prize. In its history, the race has been held in 10 different locations, however, since 2012 the race was held at Circuit of the Americas, Elroy, Texas. The circuit of the Americas is a 5,513km (3.426mi) long circuit located 19km (12 miles) south of Austin. The race itself consists of 56 laps, which totals 308,405km (191.634 mi). It does not only hold Formula 1 Grand Prix event but also Motorcycle Grand Prix of the Americas, FIM Road Racing World Championship. Prior it also hosted Australian V8 Supercars, the American Le Mans Series, the Rolex Sports Car Series, FIA World Endurance Championship and the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.
The last years’ race at this venue took place 22nd of October 2017, and it was the 47th time Grand Prix was held in the US and the 39th time that the race was run as a World Championship event since the inaugural 1950 season. Also, it was the 6th time that the World Championship was held at the Circuit of the Americas. Mercedes driver, Lewis Hamilton entered the round with 59 point lead over Sebastian Vettel in World Drivers Championship. In total Mercedes had a 155 lead over Ferrari, with RedBull at 3rd place 92 behind Ferrari. The race was historic with Sebastian Vettel setting a lap record with a time of 1:37.766. We also saw 4 players not finishing the race; Nico Hulkenberg, Daniel Riccardo and Fernando Alonso all had problems with their engine, whereas Pascal Wehrlein ended the race early due to a collision. The race finished with Hamilton on the 1st place, followed by Sebastian Vettel and Valtteri Bottas at 3rd place. This meant Lewis Hamilton increased his lead to 66 points ahead of Vettel and Mercedes 147 points ahead of Ferrari.
Looking at this season, the most recent race was held in Japan, at the Suzuka International Racing Course in Suzuka, on the 7th of October 2018. Going into the race, Lewis Hamilton had a 50 point lead ahead of Sebastian Vettel, with Bottas 67 point behind the German. As for constructors’ table, Mercedes was 53 points ahead of Ferrari, with Red Bull at 3rd place 50 behind Ferrari. The race ended with Lewis Hamilton in the 1st place, 12.919s ahead of Bottas and 14.295 seconds ahead of 3rd placed Max Verstappen. This meant Lewis extended his lead to 67 points ahead of Sebastian Vettel (who finished at a disappointing 6th place) and 124 points ahead of Valtteri Bottas.
This year’s race will be held at the same venue as it was in previous years (Circuit of the Americas). It will mark the 48th running of the United States Grand Prix. As mentioned, Lewis Hamilton is entering the race 67 points ahead of Sebastian Vettel and 124 points ahead of his teammate Valtteri Bottas in the World Drivers’ Championship.
Hamilton is seeking the 5th title of his career and he is on a good path to achieving it. Looking back at the start of the season, he was struggling, as he just couldn’t find a way to constantly perform and win races. However, he seemingly found his form just at the right moment, winning 6 out of the last 7 races, which put him well ahead of his rival Sebastian Vettel. His dominant win in Japan only proves he is after the title and as it seems no one can stop him. Although we saw Vettel improving, he severely under performed in Japan, finishing at 6th spot, which more or less ended his dream of regaining the world championship title. Hamilton might be crowned the champion of 2018 season in the USA if he wins and Vettel finishes lower than 2nd place. In that regard, we expect Hamilton to show us his best performance and win his 4th race in a row, ending the season 3 races early with the 5th title next to his name.
Prediction: Lewis Hamilton to win
Odds: 1.645 Pinnacle
