Vettel dominates otherwise amusing Texan Trial
It was business as usual for first place with Vettel sweeping away into the distance, out of reach of any racing under the bright Texan sun. Behind him however there was some good racing and on-track action to help take the awful Abu Dhabi after taste out of our mouths. Grosjean drove to a strong second place, holding off the tough challenge of Webber in the closing stages, whilst behind them Mercedes, Ferrari, Sauber, McLaren and even Williams all tussled for points, with some excellent action and back-and-forth overtaking moves through the first corners after the climb up the hill. For a second year in a row since its inauguration the Circuit of the Americas has proven itself to be an enjoyable venue, better than all the other recent additions to the calendar combined.
Into the Weekend
Formula 1 returned to the United States for the second time at the Circuit of the Americas, after enjoying a successful return stateside last year following a five-year hiatus. The Texan challenge proved to be the best new circuit to join the calendar in years and offered a much more action than previous US Grand Prix at Indianapolis and showed that with a dedicated F1 facility maybe Formula 1 can be successful in America after all. With Red Bull declared champions and still cantering away at the front by a big margin, there was little to expect of them besides continued dominance for the last two races of the year. Behind them the battle for second in the constructors was still fierce, with Mercedes leading the charge after seizing the initiative from Ferrari and Lotus closing on the scarlet outfit with strong pace. Ferrari's Fernando Alonso suffered a 28G load after hitting kerbs at 150mph in Abu Dhabi and was still suffering from back pain and headaches, while Lotus suffered the blow of losing Kimi Raikkonen to back surgery to correct the problem that almost kept him out of the Singapore Grand Prix, ending his season and Lotus career. Heikki Kovalainen, formerly of McLaren and reserve driver at Caterham, stepped into the breach to take over for the final two races after the Enstone outfit failed to secure either Nico Hulkenberg from Sauber or the illustrious Michael Schumacher from retirement to take them to the finish line in Brazil. McLaren announced that Perez would be leaving at the end of the season, to be replaced by rookie Kevin Magnussen, a surprise move for the Woking team after their gamble with Perez failed to unfold this year and they have typically opted for more proven drivers. It leaves Perez out to prove a point, liable to aid McLaren on their hunt for points to stay comfortably ahead of Force India in the constructors. Force India had a good weekend in Abu Dhabi with a double points finish, keeping them ahead of Sauber after they scored nothing following mistakes. Torro Rosso failed to seize the opportunity however with a poor finish, whilst Williams showed better form than recent races that will encourage their new signing Felipe Massa, announced this week as the replacement for Maldonado in 2014.