FORMULA 1 - 2016

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ECCLESTONE: ROSBERG WINNING THE TITLE WON’T HELP F1

Formula 1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone believes that Nico Rosberg winning this year’s world championship will not be as good for the sport as Lewis Hamilton claiming the title again.

Ecclestone told reporters in Austin, “If Nico won the title it would be good for him and good for Mercedes but it wouldn’t necessarily help the sport because there is nothing to write about him. Even in Germany it wouldn’t help. You need someone like Lewis.”

With regards to Hamilton’s antics which of late have had him in hot water with the FIA and with the British media, Ecclestone said, “I’d let Lewis do what he wants. Absolutely. Let him get on with it. I’d help him if I could.”

“He probably does what he does because he’s bored.” explained the F1 chief. “He wouldn’t go to the press conferences if he didn’t need to. But he has to go — he’d be put back on the grid or something if he didn’t.”

With four races remaining in the championship and Rosberg leading by 33 points Ecclestone doubts that the reigning world champion will add another title to the three he already has.

“It won’t be easy for him to win the title, though. If he wins three or four of the next races he still needs some of the things that happened to him earlier in the season [mechanical retirements] to happen to Nico,” ventured Ecclestone.

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TORO ROSSO CONFIRM KVYAT TO PARTNER SAINZ IN 2017

Scuderia Toro Rosso have confirmed in a statement that they are keeping Daniil Kvyat on for the 2017 season, with Carlos Sainz’s future in the team already assured since earlier this summer, it means that continuity is the name of the game.

The statement added, “We are sure that you members of the media will be delighted to have some fresh questions to ask Daniil at last, after months of quizzing him on what he is doing next year. And to those other teams who have been sniffing around our talented pair, well hands off, they’re staying put!”

Daniil Kvyat said, “Great news! I’d like to thank Red Bull, Dr. Marko and all the team for their support and the faith they have shown in me since I returned to the team earlier this year. I’m very happy to stay with a team that feels like home to me.”

“I’m really looking forward to continuing the hard work together in 2017and I’m really aiming high. I will always be fully dedicated, giving my ‘200%’, and I will be pushing as hard as I usually do, that’s for sure. I’m delighted!”

Carlos Sainz said, “Considering how many changes there are in the Formula 1 pipeline for 2017, it’s good to know that Daniil and I will continue to be teammates here at Toro Rosso next year. We know each other very well, as we’ve been racing together since 2010, and we work well together. I know that this season isn’t over yet, but I’m already looking forward to next year!”

Franz Tost added, “It makes a change to announce our driver line-up relatively early. There are so many new elements coming to Formula 1 in general and to our team specifically, in terms of the change of power unit supplier, that having the same two drivers gives us stability and a benchmark to work from.”

“For Carlos, it will be his third year with us, which speaks volumes when it comes to how highly we rate him. In recent races, it has been clear that Daniil is backon top form. I always told him that his future with us was in his hands.”

“He has stepped up to the mark and delivered the sort of performances that have ensured his 2017 seat in the STR 12. We now have a very talented and strong driver pairing to tackle a season in which we expect to be very competitive,” concluded Tost.

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Max Verstappen finds F1 rivals' complaints funny

Max Verstappen says it's funny to hear drivers complain about his driving and he has no plans to change his style after a clarification of Formula 1's rules.

Rivals have been unhappy with the way Verstappen sometimes moves under braking, with the last instance coming at the previous race in Japan when he was defending against Lewis Hamilton.

The matter was discussed at length in Friday's drivers' briefing ahead of the US Grand Prix, with the FIA issuing a clamp down on "potentially dangerous" defensive moves.

When asked how it feels sitting in a meeting having so many drivers complaining or picking on him, Verstappen replied: "It's funny. I just listen to it.

"In the end, everyone can have their own opinion.

"I did say some things, but it doesn't really make a lot of difference does it?

"I speak for myself, for what I think is right. That's what I did.

"If so many people are complaining, it's not a surprise [the FIA has taken action]"

He also said he agreed with clarifying the situation, but he believes the ruling now gives the attacker the advantage in the heat of battle.

"It is good to make it more clear to everyone what is allowed and what is not so let's see how it is going to turn out," he said.

"If that's the right approach, I don't know.

"Probably it will lead to more passes but if it is positive passing, I don't know.

"That's what we have to ask the fans at one point."

VETTEL BACKS CLARIFICATION

Sebastian Vettel believes it is a good idea to have a clear definition of what is allowed in the braking zone.

"The day I joined F1, it was clear and it was an unwritten law," Vettel said.

"In recent times, we've had situations and got away with it.

"Then the message is everyone is starting to do it which is the wrong thing because in the end, and we spoke about it yesterday, we're just waiting for something to happen.

"Therefore, it's a good action to look into these things."

Kimi Raikkonen, who has encountered Verstappen's moving under braking, said it is "never going to be black and white" what a driver is allowed to do as "every situation is different".

He added: "If there are no rules, we would start doing a lot of things.

"So we have to have some guidelines where we can go and it sounds a bit stupid sometimes but it is beneficial for everybody."

Red Bull boss Christian Horner said: "The most important thing is to have clarity.

"You can over-regulate, which is a problem.

"Certain things they need to sort out on track, and have a sensible referee for the whole season. That's what I would do."

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Ferrari can't explain lack of F1 pace at US Grand Prix - Vettel

Sebastian Vettel says Ferrari is at a loss to work out why it is struggling for pace at Formula 1's US Grand Prix, having been quick last time out at Suzuka.

Vettel and team-mate Kimi Raikkonen were best of the rest in Japanese GP qualifying behind the Mercedes drivers and recovered to fourth and fifth after each taking five-place grid penalties.

It led both drivers to say they believed Ferrari was back ahead of Red Bull but at Austin the team ended up behind Mercedes and Red Bull, with Raikkonen fifth and Vettel sixth.

"I'm not happy with the competitiveness we've shown today," said Vettel.

"The circuit is similar in many regards to two weeks ago in Japan but we seem to struggle more for overall pace here than two weeks ago."

When asked if he could specify what was different compared to Suzuka, Vettel said: "I can't give you an answer, we don't exactly know.

"On Friday, we saw we weren't yet on the pace.

"We improved for today, the feeling in the car wasn't that bad and throughout qualifying, both of us were reasonably happy with the balance.

"We're just not quick enough.

"A lot of work is going in trying to understand what happened but for now, we have to take it that way and fight as much as we can in Sunday's race."

Vettel admitted he didn't get the best out of his laps either.

"Both Q3 laps, I wasn't happy," he said. "I probably pushed a little bit too hard.

"We know it backfires on these tyres but that's not an excuse, I should have done a better job.

"It's part of the reason why I'm not entirely happy with today, the gap to the cars in front is what I don't like.

"We had a good run the last couple of races, coming here and seeing we're not as competitive as we thought is not good news."

Raikkonen was equally unhappy with Ferrari's performance at Austin.

"It's a disappointment where we finished today but handling wise, there was not a lot to complain about," he said.

"It's just pure lap time we are missing, we have to go faster.

"It's not very easy to fix otherwise we would have fixed it already.

"But we've seen that before this year a lot, that it changes from circuit to circuit."

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Valtteri Bottas will stay with Williams in F1 for 2017

Valtteri Bottas will remain at Williams for the 2017 Formula 1 season, Autosport understands.

Although Bottas was among those to have held talks with Renault, as a potential team-mate to Nico Hulkenberg in the wake of the German's move from Force India, the Finn has opted for one more year with Williams.

Bottas and recently-crowned European F3 champion Lance Stroll will form the Grove team's partnership in 2017, with confirmation of the pairing understood to be announced early next month.

It means Bottas will be with the team for a sixth successive season in F1 after starting out as a test driver in 2012 prior to his promotion to a race seat the following year.

The 27-year-old Finn has yet to win in his 73 starts with the team, although he has stood on the podium on nine occasions, including back-to-back second places in 2014 at Silverstone and Hockenheim.

Deputy team principal Claire Williams recently told Autosport she would be disappointed if Bottas's maiden win came with any other team.

This season has been tougher for both Williams - which has slipped to fifth in the constructors' championship - and Bottas, although he has still outscored retiring team-mate Felipe Massa by 37 points so far this season.

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Our race pace is better than our qualifying pace - McLaren

McLaren expect to score points on Sunday with at least one car, despite both starting outside the top ten, as they feel their race pace is much better than their one-lap qualifying pace.

Fernando Alonso starts the United States Grand Prix from P12, whilst team-mate Jenson Button starts P19, having struggled for pace with traffic a particular problem for the Briton.

Nonetheless, both team boss Eric Boullier and Alonso believe a points finish is possible with their race pace.

"Fernando drove a near-perfect Q2 lap here in Austin today – but, even so, he narrowly failed to go through to Q3, missing out by just 0.169s, ending up 12th. 

"However, our car is more competitive relative to our principal rivals’ in terms of race pace than it is in terms of qualifying pace. So, while P12 is far from ideal, it nonetheless gives him a platform from which to attack tomorrow, in an effort to progress through the field to some extent and thereby score world championship points."

Alonso doesn't expect an easy ride on Sunday and says he and the team will need a clever strategy to make their race work.

"If we want to score some points in the race tomorrow we need to raise our game and find a clever way," he added.

Button meanwhile was disappointed to have his afternoon spoiled by traffic which refused to get out of his way.

"I had four cars to overtake in the last sector alone, and then the last one [Jolyon Palmer] didn’t move out of the way. He saw me really late and stayed on the racing line, so I had to outbrake into the last corner. It’s so important to brake late and carry speed into there and you can’t do that if you’re offline, it hurts the tyres a lot more. It’s disappointing. 

"Hopefully tomorrow we can make up some ground in the race but it’s going to be a tough day – we have good race pace but overtaking around here will be almost impossible for us."

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Haas expected poor qualifying after troublesome practice

Haas weren't surprised by their difficult qualifying session after enduring a troubling practice one and two on Friday for the United States Grand Prix.

Esteban Gutierrez will start 14th after making it through to Q2, whilst team-mate Romain Grosjean struggled in traffic and failed to make the cut, qualifying down in 17th - in stark contrast to last time out in Japan when both made it through to Q3.

Team principal Guenther Steiner believes the issues they experienced on Friday hurt their qualifying preparation and therefore says a poor result wasn't "unexpected".

"Not an unexpected qualifying result. We struggled yesterday. We had a lot of downtime with small issues on the cars, so we didn’t do a lot of running," he said. "In FP3 we got a little better understanding and then finished 14th and 17th in qualifying.

"It was a very good job from Esteban to get into Q2. Romain almost made it, but he got a bit hung up in traffic in the last sector of his lap, so he ended up 17th, just one place out of Q2. We will try to do our best tomorrow."

Steiner says the team are still learning in their first season and such tiny errors can be costly because the margins are so tiny.

"We’ve learned a lot over the weekend. We keep on learning every time. Last week we had both cars in Q3. This week we got stuck with one car in Q1.

"It’s so close in the midfield, and that’s the main reason why these things happen.

"Our car doesn’t seem to be very good in the slow-speed areas and you can see that on sector three of this circuit. But we’ll be up and going for tomorrow and aim to have a good race."

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Sergio Perez: 'There is still an issue with the car'

Sergio Perez there is “still an issue” with his Force India after struggling during third practice and qualifying for the United States Grand Prix.

The team discovered a problem with a component at the rear of his car during third practice but Perez felt something was still not right during qualifying.

He lagged behind team-mate Nico Hulkenberg throughout the session, eventually being knocked out in Q2.

Perez will line up for the race at the Circuit of the Americas from 11th place on the grid after a difficult Saturday.

“It has been a messy day – not only qualifying, but final practice as well,” he said. “For some reason, I’ve been quite a long way off the pace and we’ve lost some of the performance we had yesterday.

“This morning we found an issue with one of the components at the rear of the car, which impacted on my pace.

“I thought we had solved that going into qualifying, but I still believe there is an issue with the car because the data showed it was very difficult for me to match my teammate in the braking zones.

“The car also felt nervous through the high-speed corners. Hopefully we can understand where I’m losing out and figure out a solution so that it does not impact on my race pace tomorrow.”

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UNITED STATES GRAND PRIX: HAMILTON CLAIMS 50TH F1 VICTORY

It has been a long time coming – since July in fact when he stood on the top step of a podium – but Lewis Hamilton finally scored his 50th Formula 1 victory as he dominated the United States Grans Prix doing all that was required of him as he chases his Mercedes team mate Nico Rosberg in the championship standings.

The reigning F1 world champion never put a foot wrong all afternoon, powering off the start line from pole position and taking the lead from the moment the red lights went dark, never to be seriously challenged again as he controlled proceedings from the front until the chequered flag waved at the end of 56 laps.

Hamilton said on the podium after the race, “The team did a great job to put us both up there and I am very proud to be up here. Finally my 50th win. All I can do is my best, Nico has been driving fantastically well, so the battle will continue, I will be going for it.”

As much as Hamilton did all he was required to do, so did Rosberg by finishing second despite dropping to third as the field roared into Turn 1. He kept his head, tweaked his strategy and was handed some luck with a Virtual Safety Car (VSC) around mid-race and thus limited the damage in the title race with second place.

He leaves Texas with a 26 points lead over Hamilton with three races remaining in the championship.

Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo was third, and with a bit of luck might have even split the Mercedes duo. He made a strong start, ambushing Rosberg into Turn 1 and settling into second behind race leader Hamilton.

Rosberg summed up, “I lost out a bit at the start but gave everything to come back. I was going for it flat out until the end.”

As much as the VSC helped Rosberg, it ultimately cost the Australian that second place. Ironically the VSC was triggered by his Red Bull teammate Max Verstappen whose car had to be removed by a tractor after he was forced to retire with a gearbox problem.

Ricciardo said, “The race was not that exciting. The start nearly went to plan, it was OK, the plan was to get both Mercedes, we got Nico which was a positive. We were holding second, then it was the virtual safety car and Nico managed to jump me during that period which is frustrating.”

It was a shame for Verstappen as he recovered well after a poor start and was running in fourth, catching Ricciardo, before the mishap. He also executed the move of the day, with a ballsy overtake to snatch fourth place from Kimi Raikkonen in the Ferrari.

After Verstappen’s demise Raikkonen looked set to claim fourth, but the Reds botched his final stop and he was forced to stop at the exit of the pit-lane with a loose wheel ending his grand prix.

The two retirements benefited Sebastian Vettel, in the other Ferrari, and gifted the German fourth place on an afternoon where he was lucky to escape unscathed from a first turn melee, caused by him turning into Turn 1 aggressively and forcing Nico Hulkenberg to take avoiding action.

As a result the Force India clattered into Valtteri Bottas’ Williams which in turn tagged the other Force India of Sergio Perez. Hulkenberg was forced to retire from the race, while the other two had their races seriously compromised by having to pit early to sort out damage. Vettel, the perpetrator, was lucky and probably remained unaware of his actions until after the race.

Drive of the Day, from where we sat, must go to Fernando Alonso who fought his way from 12th on the grid to claim fifth place for McLaren.

The Spaniard gave a ‘Yeehah’ whoop of delight as he crossed the line having dispatched first the Williams of Felipe Massa and Toro Rosso’s Carlos Sainz in the final stages of the race to match the team’s best finish of the season when he finished fifth in Monaco.

Sainz did well to finish sixth, running a set of soft tyres longer than anyone in his final stint. Massa was seventh despite a last lap scare when he was forced to pit with a puncture caused by contact with Alonso as they dueled for sixth place.

Perez recovered from the first lap incident to finish eighth and help keep his team ahead of Williams in the constructors’ standings.

McLaren’s Jenson Button also did well to claim ninth after staring from 19th on the grid, with Romain Grosjean claiming the final point Haas at their first home grand prix.

Race Report

At the start, Hamilton made a solid getaway to take the race lead. Rosberg went wide on the right to put pressure on his team-mate and that allowed the fast-starting Ricciardo to pull alongside the German on the inside of Turn One. Ricciardo’s line gave him the advantage through the next corners and he moved into second ahead of Rosberg.

Behind them, Raikkonen passed Verstappen at the start with the Dutchman slipping to fifth ahead of the second Ferrari of Vettel.

Hulkenberg though was going backwards. The Force India driver started in seventh position but in Turn One he was involved in a collision with the Williams of Bottas. The German was sent into a spin and dropped to the rear of the field. He limped back to the pits and was forced to retire from the race. Bottas sustained a puncture. He too pitted and rejoined at the back of the order.

The first stint saw Hamilton begin to build a gap to Ricciardo and by the time the leaders had for the time first cycled through the pits for new tyres, the defending champion had carved out a five-second advantage to the Red Bull man.

While the bulk of the top 10 shed starting supersofts for soft compound tyres in the opening stops, Rosberg, in third, chose a different strategy. The German took on medium tyres and settled in to play a longer game.

Verstappen, meanwhile, was on a march. The Dutchman passed Raikkonen in the first round of stops and then set some blisteringly quick laps to close the gap to Rosberg. The Dutchman was warned to keep an eye on tyre life, however, and after initially insisting “I’m not here to finish fourth”, he settled back into a steady rhythm two seconds behind the championship leader.

Verstappen came unstuck in his second stop, however. The teenager headed for the pits on lap 27 in the belief that the team wanted him to box. There had been no such call, however, and the Red Bull crew had to react rapidly as Verstappen approached.

They managed the pit stop in nine seconds but the delay dropped the Red Bull driver to P9. Moments later he slowed drastically and reported that something was “hitting in the engine”. He tried to limp the car back to the pit lane but he was forced to pull over and retire.

That brought out the Virtual Safety Car, under which both Mercedes drivers made a pit stop. Hamilton and Rosberg took on medium tyres and rejoined in P1 and P2 respectively, with Ricciardo now third ahead of Raikkonen, Vettel, Toro Rosso’s Sainz and Williams’ Massa. Alonso was eighth for McLaren ahead of Force India’s Perez and the second McLaren of Button.

Raikkonen was the next to fall foul of a bungled stop. When the Finn made his third stop, from fourth place, the Ferrari crew failed to attach the rear left correctly and Raikkonen had to pull over at the pit exit. He then reversed down the pit lane, stopped the car and retired from the race.

The race then settled into a steady groove and with five laps remaining Hamilton led Rosberg by 6.6s with Ricciardo a further seven seconds behind. Vettel was fourth ahead of Sainz, who was managing a gap to Williams’ Massa and Alonso. Perez was eighth for Force India and the final points positions were occupied by Jenson in the second McLaren and Haas’ Grosjean.

Alonso wasn’t willing to settle though and on lap 52 he attempted a bold move on Massa. The pair banged wheels and went off track but the Spaniard rejoined in front of the Williams. The move, though, would be investigated after the race. Alonso then chased down Sainz and on the final lap of the race the McLaren driver muscled past his countryman to take fifth place.

And that was how the race ended, with Hamilton taking the 50th win of his career, 4.5s ahead of Rosberg. Ricciardo took third ahead of Vettel and the excellent Alonso. Sainz finished with his best result since Spain earlier this year. Massa, who also suffered a puncture in the clash with Alonso, clung on to seventh place ahead of Perez, Button and Grosjean.

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Rosberg insists he didn’t play it safe

Despite failing to mount a challenge in the United States GP, Nico Rosberg insists he was pushing “flat out” all the way to the chequered flag.

The German started Sunday’s 56-lap grand prix from second on the grid but lost out to Daniel Ricciardo off the line.

While it appeared for much of the grand prix that Rosberg would finish P3 behind Lewis Hamilton and Ricciardo, a fortuitous Virtual Safety Car played into his hands.

But even when Rosberg was running P2 behind Hamilton, he was unable to make any serious inroads into his team-mate’s lead and finished second on that day.

That, though, is all the 31-year-old needs in the remaining races to wrap up his first World title.

“I lost out a bit at the start unfortunately and then gave it everything to come back,” he said.

“Second place is okay as it was damage limitation today of course.

“I wanted to win here in America, that would have been awesome, but it wasn’t to be.

“Next time maybe.”

Asked if he was playing it safe given his position in the standings, Rosberg replied: “Definitely not, I was going for it flat out all the way to the end.”

Rosberg heads to Mexico, round 19 of the 21-race season, 26 points ahead of Hamilton.

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Ricciardo satisfied with result

Although satisfied with his P3 finish, Red Bull driver Daniel Ricciardo admitted that their plan was to overtake both Lewis Hamilton and NIco Rosberg at the start of the United States Grand Prix.

Starting the race on supersofts, the Aussie driver was hoping to gain an edge on the Mercedes duo, who were starting on softs, but only managed to get ahead of Rosberg.

Ricciardo ran P2 during the early stages of the race, but as the race progressed, the 27-year-old was out-done by his German rival.

Taking advantage of a Virtual Safety Car caused by Max Verstappen, Mercedes decided to call in Rosberg for a fresher pair of medium compounds, hindering Ricciardo’s strategy which ultimately cost him second place.

"The start went nearly to plan, it was okay," he explained to actor Gerard Butler during the podium interviews.

"The plan was to try get both Mercedes but we at least got Nico, which was a positive.

"Then we were looking like we were holding second quite well then the Virtual Safety Car.

"It is what it is.

"It is a bit of a frustrating one sometimes, Nico was able to jump me through that procedure.

"A bit of a shame, obviously we would have had a good fight at the end so sorry about that but out of my control."

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Hulkenberg blames Vettel for USGP retirement

Nico Hulkenberg believes Sebastian Vettel was responsible for his DNF in Sunday’s United States GP as it “could have been avoided if Seb leaves a bit more space.”

Hulkenberg made contract with Valtteri Bottas on the opening lap at the Circuit of the Americas with both cars forced to pit.

But while Bottas escaped with a puncture, Hulkenberg had to retire his car as the steering arm was broken.

The Force India driver and his Williams counterpart were investigated by the stewards without further action, however, Hulkenberg reckons it was actually Vetel who as to blame.

He said: “I don’t think it was the Williams / Force India battle, it just happened to be there.

“We were obviously three in one corner, Seb on my outside, I was in the middle, Valtteri on the inside.

“But the way I saw it is Seb didn’t give me much room, he really turned in on me.

“I couldn’t pull out as I also had a car on the inside.

“He turned into me and I wasn’t able to back out because it happened too quickly.

“He then pushed me into Valtteri and that was basically the incident.

“It could have been avoided if Seb leaves a bit more space.”

As for the damage to his VJM09, Hulkenberg revealed that the impact had broken his steering arm.

“One of the steering arms was broken and you can’t race like that,” he said.

“It is not a quick fix so very frustrating.”

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Vettel says VSC cost him podium chance

Sebastian Vettel believes the Virtual Safety Car cost him a chance to finish on the podium in the United States Grand Prix.

The Ferrari driver finished a distant fourth after opting for a different strategy than his direct rivals.

Vettel stretched his first stint on supersofts longer than his rivals to take the lead before stopping for softs.

He then pitted for mediums just 15 laps later, but the VSC period caused by Max Verstappen aided drivers who were yet to pit.

"I think we had a good race," said Vettel. "We stayed out longer. Obviously other people in front us of pitted sooner so I think it was a chance for us to try something different.

"Then I think we pitted early to go on the medium tyre to keep track position to Max. Obviously a lap or two later the Virtual Safety Car comes out. That wasn't ideal.

"Otherwise I think we could have had a crack at the podium.

"But all in all I think the race was a lot better than qualifying in terms of competitiveness. Obviously a shame we didn't get both cars to the chequered flag."

Teammate Kimi Raikkonen was forced to retire from the race after Ferrari failed to secure one of his wheels properly in his final pitstop.

The team was fined 5000 euro for the incident.

"It was one of those weekends," said the Finn. "We had decent speed in the race. We never found out, nothing changed because we didn't finish the race.

"The fact is that we didn't finish. I noticed there was something not going on, I slowed down straight afterwards because I saw some sparks. I don't know the reason why it never got done 100 percent up, we have to find out."

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Massa says Alonso has “responsibility” for late-race clash

Williams’s Felipe Massa says Fernando Alonso was responsible for causing the collision that punctured one of his tyres, and claims it “destroyed” his chances of a good result.

Massa finished seventh after the late-race collision, but believes he could have finished in the top five.

After the Virtual Safety Car allowed Toro Rosso’s Carlos Sainz to jump ahead of him, Massa came under attack from Alonso – who barged his way past with four laps remaining.

“I was just doing the corner, and he just dived completely inside,” said Massa. “I was already entering the corner and he just hit my car and I had a puncture.

“It destroyed the opportunities I had at that moment. So I think, yes, for sure it’s his responsibility.”

Alonso believed the collision was a racing incident, and he went on to pass Sainz to finish fifth.

“I think that I was side by side with him,” said Alonso of Massa. “It’s not like I was coming from behind doing any crazy things. I was already side by side, and there was no space for him to turn in.

“We need to go and see the stewards, they will decide and hopefully everything remains as a race incident.

“Passing the Toro Rosso was a lot easier because they are very slow on the straights and opening the DRS was enough.”

“The pace was not good all weekend, and not in the race, but it was enough to be close to the guys in front and with differing strategy, Toro Rosso fit the soft and we had the medium, so we had better tyre life at the end of the race.”

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Verstappen: Team told me to stop where I did

Max Verstappen says he was ordered to stop his Red Bull car where he did by his team, even though it led to a Virtual Safety Car that cost his teammate Daniel Ricciardo a shot at second place.

Verstappen suffered a gearbox failure as he accelerated on to the back straight just after half distance.

He chugged the car around the track at low speed, but was told to pull off and drove through a gravel trap to the side of the circuit.

Although his car was next to a gap, the marshals could not get it to roll backwards.

When asked if he could have stopped the car sooner, in a safer position, he replied: "I could, but the team told me to keep on going, they said there is a serious issue.

"And then at one point they decided 'OK Max, stop the car over there'.

"It was in neutral, but the car got stuck. You can press a button on the top [of the chassis] but that didn't work.

"So that's why the Virtual Safety Car came out, otherwise you can just push the car into the gap."

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Ferrari hit with 5,000 euro fine for Kimi Raikkonen's unsafe release

Ferrari have been handed a €5,000 fine for releasing Kimi Raikkonen's car in an unsafe manner during his third pitstop during the United States Grand Prix.

The Finn was released from his pit box in error whilst a wheel gun was still attached to the right-rear wheel. Although it freed itself as he drove away, he was told by his team to stop as he exited the pitlane.

Raikkonen then rolled back down the hill, coming to a stop in the pitlane, but Ferrari opted to retire his car as he had lost too much time at that point.

Prior to the stop, he had been running fourth ahead of Ferrari team-mate Sebastian Vettel.

The stewards, after examining video evidence, handed down a €5,000 fine as is standard for unsafe releases.

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No further action against Fernando Alonso after Felipe Massa clash

Fernando Alonso has retained fifth place in the United States Grand Prix after clashing with Felipe Massa late in the race.

The Spaniard was on a late charge and caught up to Massa’s Williams, putting in an opportunistic overtake at Turn 16.

But the two drivers collided as they went for the apex, with both going wide. Alonso remained ahead but the stewards decided to investigate the incident after the race.

Alonso went on to pass Carlos Sainz Jr. on the penultimate lap to move into fifth place, which is where he finished at the chequered flag.

The stewards decided to take no further action against Alonso after reviewing footage of the incident.

The statement said: “The Stewards examined the evidence and conclude that no driver was wholly or predominately to blame for the collision.”

Fifth place is Alonso and McLaren’s best result of the 2016 season since the Monaco Grand Prix in May.  

Massa, who finished seventh after a puncture, said on the incident: “At the end, Fernando dived into the corner I was taking, hit my car and I got a puncture because of it. It destroyed every opportunity I had to finish the race in sixth, and potentially fifth.”

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Romain Grosjean pleased with 'lucky' drive to 10th at COTA

Romain Grosjean says he is pleased to score a point at Haas F1’s home race in the USA, but he admitted the team benefitted from some good luck too.

The Frenchman started down in 17th place after a disappointing qualifying session, but he made steady progress with an alternative strategy.

He gradually moved up the order, helped by a strong first stint, and took advantage of other cars retiring to sneak into the top 10.

The point scored at the Circuit of the Americas in Texas is the first for the Haas team since the Austrian GP in July.

“It didn’t go too badly today,” he said. “It was a bit of a messy first lap, but I managed to get through everything.

“Then we went with an aggressive strategy trying to go for it. That worked out pretty well, so I’m happy with that.

“We were lucky that a few cars retired in front of us but, in the end, we needed to finish the race. It’s great to score a point in front of our home crowd.

“I’m very pleased with that and for the guys, as well. It’s been a long time since we scored. It’s obviously a great thing to be able to score points at the end of the season.”

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Sainz thrilled with sixth after team predicted 11th

Carlos Sainz Jnr described his sixth place in the United States Grand Prix as “very special” despite having narrowly missed out on a best-ever result.

The Toro Rosso driver was passed by Fernando Alonso late in the race but nonetheless hailed his sixth place finish.

“Today’s result is a very special one for myself and the team,” said Sainz. “It’s a top, top, top result. What a boost and what a way to motivate the team and keep our heads up until the end of the season.”

“I don’t know what this track has, but I just get such a good feeling every time I race here. It’s a weekend I will always remember.”

“To equal my best result in Formula 1 makes me very happy, but this P6 is a bit more special than the one in Barcelona because here we didn’t think we really had the car to do so – our simulations before the race said we would only finish in P11 or P12 and here we were, fighting for a P5.”

Sainz benefitted from the Virtual Safety Car period which helped him stay ahead of Felipe Massa. “We knew it was going to be very difficult to get to the end on the soft tyre, but we committed to that and went to the end on that set – during the last two laps I had no tyre left and just had to hold on to it as best I could.”

Alonso found a way past the Toro Rosso late in the race. Sainz said he enjoyed the fight with his childhood hero.

“The battle with Fernando was so much fun,” he said. “I knew that he would end up getting past me but I said to myself, ‘let’s make it a bit complicated for him’.”

“I perfectly know how he attacks and how to defend against him, as I’ve been watching him race for the past 12 years. And I think that to be able to keep him behind for all those laps until he just opened the DRS and said ‘ciao, ciao’ was pretty decent.”

“I’m so pleased, so happy, you just can’t imagine what’s going on inside me now, even if I’m not showing it on the outside, I’m delighted. I will definitely celebrate with champagne tonight, for me this feels like a win.”

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VETTEL SPOTTED IN DISCUSSION WITH RED BULL IN AUSTIN

Ferrari driver Sebastian Vettel caused quite a stir when spotted in deep conversation with Adrian Newey and Christian Horner in the Austin paddock during the United States Grand Prix weekend.

But Red Bull consultant Helmut Marko, threw cold water on any wild speculation, and explained to Auto Bild, “Sebastian wants to buy one of the Aston Martins, which has been designed and co-developed by Adrian Newey. They were just discussing Seb’s the special requests that he wants for his car.”

The AM-RB001, which is currently being displayed at the Tokyo motor show, gave Newey the opportunity to fulfill his childhood dream. Together with Aston Martin and Red Bull Technology build he is a key part of the project to build a hypercar.

When released the car, which will be based around a V12 engine which will deliver over 1000 horsepower, will be available for around €3 million.

The project was first presented during the weekend of the Formula 1 season opener in 2016 in Melbourne . As part of the partnership, Red Bull have been promoting the Aston Martin logo on their cars this season.

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Magnussen hit with post-race penalty

Kevin Magnussen has been hit with a five-second time penalty in the wake of the United States GP for gaining an advantage off the track.

The Dane was involved in a late battle with Daniil Kvyat as he used his fresher tyres to carve his way through the field.

Passing Kvyat for 11th place, Magnussen ran off the track at Turn 12 and rejoined ahead of the Toro Rosso.

Magnussen was later investigated by the stewards who declared that he had gained an advantage and slapped him with a five-second time penalty.

“Car 20 left the track in turn 12, gaining a lasting advantage,” the stewards decision read.

Magnussen drops to P12.

He told Autosport: “The penalty is frustrating, but that’s racing sometimes.

“It was a pretty decent race considering our qualifying position [18th].

“I was able to have some fun at the end of the race on the super-soft tyres – it was the most fun I’ve had in the car all season, being able to push hard to the chequered flag.”

Magnussen also received two penalty points for the incident, which leaves him with four for the current 12-month period.

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Rosberg: Second not good enough

Nico Rosberg says he was not happy to finish second to Lewis Hamilton in the United States Grand Prix despite taking another step towards his first title.

Rosberg was unable to trouble his teammate in today's race, Hamilton dominating from start to finish after having started from pole position.

But despite the victory, Hamilton is still 26 points behind his Mercedes teammate.

With three races remaining, it means Rosberg could finish second in all of them and still secure the title.

Despite that, the German said today's result was not what he wanted.

"No, I don't see it like that," Rosberg said when asked if it was job done for him. "I wanted to win the US Grand Prix today, and it didn't work out.

"So I'm not ecstatic of course. But Lewis did a great job this weekend, it was his weekend. He did a good job in qualifying, and nailed the start, and then the race also.

"There was nothing I could have done, even thought I was feeling really good out there. I had great pace towards the end of the race, I was pushing like mad to try and close up and put slight pressure in some way on him. But it wasn't enough."

While Rosberg said he knows the advantage he has in the title battle, the Mercedes driver insists he will still go for victory in Mexico next week.

"I'm well aware of the championship situation, and it's exciting to be in that battle," he said. "But for me to do the best possible job, it's just to keep things very simple.

"That's what I like to do, and it's been feeling good to me.

"When I get to the next race in Mexico, I'm just going to go for the win, because I'd love to get the win there."

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ECCLESTONE: ANYONE THAT CHUCKS RON DENNIS OUT IS STUPID

Formula One’s commercial supremo Bernie Ecclestone has spoken out in support of Ron Dennis amid continuing speculation that shareholders are seeking to replace the McLaren boss.

“If I was going to run a team I’d like to have Ron with me,” the Briton told Reuters at the U.S. Grand Prix, which Dennis attended 50 years on from his first involvement at a race weekend.

“I think he does a good job. Anyone that chucks him out is stupid. He’s dedicated. I think we ought to try and support him so they don’t get rid of him,” added Ecclestone, who will turn 86 in Mexico next Sunday. “It would be a shame to see him go. He’s one of the good old timers.”

British media reported last week that Dennis, 69, would be leaving as McLaren chairman and chief executive at the end of the year when his contract expired.

A McLaren spokesman said in response that Dennis, who attended his first Formula One race as a Cooper mechanic in Mexico in 1966, had stated “categorically” that he is not stepping down.

“Moreover, he remains contracted as chairman and chief executive officer of McLaren Technology Group and he retains a 25 percent shareholding — exactly equal to that of (Saudi-born business partner) Mansour Ojjeh.”

Mahmood al-Kooheji, CEO of Bahrain’s sovereign wealth fund Mumtalakat, which owns the other 50 percent, told Reuters they had “great admiration” for Dennis.

“He’s a colleague, an inspirational chairman who is behind all the ideas,” he said. “Whatever he decides, we will support his decision. I hope he continues and I will try to make him stay.”

However, former McLaren driver turned television commentator Martin Brundle said he expected Dennis to leave.

“There seems to have been some friction and there seems to be a new direction they want to go in,” he told Sky Sports television.

“I don’t know who they’ve got in mind and (in) which elements of McLaren they will make changes, and whether they will restructure. We’ll have to wait and see,” added Brundle.

Dennis, who has been involved with McLaren since 1980, stood down as team boss in 2009 but returned as group chief executive in January 2014.

McLaren changed their name in 2014 to McLaren Technology Group, incorporating the sportscar company and applied technologies as well as the F1 team.

Mumtalakat agreed that same year to sell some shares to Dennis but there has been no confirmation of that happening.

McLaren have not won since 2012 and struggled last year at the start of a new partnership with Honda. They have improved since and recorded their fourth double points finish of the season in Texas.

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ROSBERG: I COMPLETELY BLOCK THAT OUT

Formula 1 championship leader Nico Rosberg is refusing to be rattled by reliability concerns as he prepares for his first ‘match point’ of the season in Mexico this weekend.

“That’s not within my control so I completely block that out,” the Mercedes driver told reporters after finishing second to team mate Lewis Hamilton in Sunday’s United States Grand Prix.

Rosberg leaves Austin 26 points clear of triple world champion Hamilton, meaning that the last three races in Mexico, Brazil and Abu Dhabi all loom as potential title deciders.

A victory in Mexico City on Sunday, coupled with Hamilton failing to score, would leave the German enjoying an unassailable lead of 51 points.

“Of course I’m aware of that, it’s an obvious calculation which everybody is telling me and it’s great…but for me the approach is keep it simple,” said Rosberg. “So just look for the race win and concentrate on what’s at hand for the weekend.”

The Briton said on Sunday that he had been on tenterhooks every lap, haunted by the possibility of another engine failure like the one that robbed him of 25 points in Malaysia.

“In the cockpit all I could think about was the car making it to the end,” said the Briton. “Every single lap I was thinking something might happen.”

Mercedes motorsport head Toto Wolff saw “very stressful” weeks ahead with the team praying that the drivers could fight for the title without mechanical problems playing a part.

“The scare is there,” he told Reuters. “After what happened in Malaysia…there is a bit of trauma that stays within you. We don’t want to interfere in their fight.”

Wolff said Mercedes had decided against introducing a further engine upgrade and believed the battle would go all the way to Abu Dhabi.

Hamilton had a difficult weekend in Japan, the race before Austin, with his track performance overshadowed by a media spat, but the Briton was back to his best at the Circuit of the Americas.

Wolff saw more swings of the pendulum ahead, “It has been changing from weekend to weekend. In Singapore it was Nico’s weekend, then Malaysia was Lewis’s and he was awesome, and it was again Nico’s weekend in Suzuka and here it is Lewis. It keeps bouncing every single weekend.”

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RICCIARDO GIVES GERARD BUTLER THE BOOT

Australian Formula 1 driver Daniel Ricciardo laughingly handed Scottish film star Gerard Butler a sweaty boot filled with Red Bull on the U.S. Grand Prix podium on Sunday and demanded he drink.

With a global live audience of millions watching, and tens of thousands at the track, the actor swallowed his pride and also the contents.

“I hear Mr Butler does not drink alcohol, I respect that completely,” the Australian, who finished third for the Red Bull team, told the crowd as Butler approached to conduct the podium interviews.

“But I believe he’s going to drink some Red Bull out of my shoe right now. The race wasn’t that exciting but hopefully now…”

Ricciardo, a race winner in Malaysia this month, has made a habit of quaffing the podium champagne from his race boot — dubbing the gesture a ‘Shoey’ — when he finishes in the top three.

He said last month that he had been introduced to the quirky celebration by Australian fishermen and surfers and has enticed rival drivers to join him in the dubious ritual.

“If the sparkling wine is cold, then it tastes good. Normally on the podium, it’s cold so you don’t get all the flavors but if it’s warm, then you get the sweat and all that through it … but the cold taste kills the bad stuff,” he had said in Singapore.

Ricciardo said then that he would probably limit the celebration to victories only, but he said nothing about extending the ‘treat’ to others.

Race winner Lewis Hamilton and his Mercedes team mate Nico Rosberg were spared on Sunday, however, with Butler the target instead.

“You’ve got to be kidding me. I hate you,” said the Scot, who played the role of King Leonidas in the 2009 movie ‘300’ set in ancient Sparta, before raising the boot to his lips.

“Fortunately I could taste mostly the Red Bull,” he told Hamilton when asked about the flavor.

He later sounded as if he might have actually enjoyed the experience: “Too much fun at the F1 U.S. Grand Prix, especially being given the boot by @danielricciardo,” he said on Twitter.