Having done with Europe, Asia, Middle East and the rest of the Eastern Hemisphere, the Formula 1 circus moves across seas to the western hemisphere, to the Americas to start with. On October 22, the 2017 Formula 1 United States Grand Prix will take place at Austin, Texas.
Way back, after 2007, the Formula 1 racing returned to the US in 2012, in an all-new venue, The Circuit of The Americas, which was inaugurated on October 21, 2012 by the 1978 F1 world champion, Mario Andretti. The Hermann Tilke-designed 5.5-km Grand Prix circuit, is a 20-turn, anticlockwise track, which will see the drivers negotiate 56 laps for a race distance of 308.405 km. The venue, comprising of grandstands, semi-permanent stands and natural seating areas can take in over 120,000 viewers. The lap record at this track is held by Sebastian Vettel when he clocked 1:39.347 in 2012.
The recently concluded Japanese Grand Prix should have played a decisive role in the outcome of the Drivers’ Championship, as it happened for the last 11 times. But, as we move towards this weekend’s races, the Drivers’ Championship title is still up for grabs, despite Lewis Hamilton virtually dominating the last couple of races. Hamilton has totted up a tally of 306 points, followed by Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari) with 247 and Hamilton’s Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas with 234. Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo has been an almost permanent fixture on the podium for several races and has built up a tally of 192 points.
In the Constructors’ Standings, Mercedes is right up there with 540 points with Ferrari at 395 and Red Bull Racing Tag Heuer with 303.
It has always been an eternal fight for the title between the drivers of Mercedes and Ferrari, but the latter seems to be having a bout of bad luck, especially in the just concluded Asian leg of the championship. “On pure pace, the team probably had the best car over the past three rounds, certainly in Singapore and Sepang, and though the advantage was less obvious in Suzuka, where Mercedes dominated in qualifying, Ferrari’s race pace arguably made front-row starter Vettel a real contender for victory. However, despite the pace shown on recent weekends, events conspired against them and Vettel and Raikkonen have scored just 22 points since the Italian Grand Prix, notching up four retirements in the process,” noted Ross Brawn, Managing Director, Motorsport, Formula 1 in a magazine.
Following the US weekend, Formula 1 will move to Mexico for Formula 1 Gran Premio De Mexico 2017 on October 29 and then on to Sao Paulo for Formula 1 Grande Premio Heineken Do Brasil 2017 on November 12. The final race of the 2017 season will see the circus veer its way back to the Middle East for the 2017 Formula 1 Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on November 26 at Yas Marina.
