No prizes for guessing the winner of the 2013 United States Grand Prix. Someone else will have to start winning soon before everyone thinks that the German / Austrian national anthem combo is simply obligatory when someone wins a race. It isn’t, but Bizet’s Carmen is always a welcome sound (for the record, Bizet was French).
I don’t need to tell you what sort of a start Mark Webber had. A classic start. Let’s hope he gets it right at Brazil next weekend.
Whoah dude! Safety car on lap 1
It doesn’t look good if you lose control of your car on lap 1 and plough it into the wall so badly you need a safety car. Luckily for F1 supply
teacher
driver Heikki Kovalainen, it wasn’t him but instead it was piano playing and occasional bar brawler Adrian Sutil! Out came the safety car for a few laps as Sutil’s car was cleared away (sadly those marshall brooms are not yet capable of clearing away embarrassment).
Do you know what the black and orange flag signifies? Georgie Thompson certainly wouldn’t. Anyway, you don’t see it very much, but it’s a flag to basically say your car is BROKEN please pit to sort it out, like, now. Maldonado had the privilege of being shown the black and orange flag as a result of a ropey looking front wing.
Lewis Hamilton did not sound like a happy bunny in the early section of the race. Manage this, manage that, look after this, look after that – phrases that are not naturally in Hamilton’s repertoire.
Valtteri Bottas had a fine race indeed, eventually finishing in 8th place. Overtake of the race undoubtedly goes to Bottas for his brave move on Gutierrez.
We saw Webber hunt down Grosjean in the final few laps but to no avail – and then Hulkenberg almost had Alonso in the last lap of the race. Alonso isn’t 2nd place in this year’s World Championship for nothing.
Calling all JB fans – your favourite driver got one point. I know! ONE POINT! Result. Perez got 6 points #awkward.
“I Love You”
If your team made you a car that just won you your 8th consecutive race in a season then, yes, you too would declare your undying love for your team. Which is exactly what Vettel did as he took yet another win in 2013 (personally, I’ve stopped counting, but I’ve heard it’s rather a lot).
Vettel – “We have an incredible team spirit. Incredible, I’m so proud of you. I love you. YES! SHAKE AND BAKE!”
Gee whizz – the Results!
Driver
Car
Team
Grid
Fastest Lap
Race Time
1
Sebastian Vettel
1
Red Bull
1
1:39.856
1:39:17.148
25
2
Romain Grosjean
8
Lotus
3
No time
+00:06.284
18
3
Mark Webber
2
Red Bull
2
No time
+00:08.396
15
4
Lewis Hamilton
10
Mercedes
5
No time
+00:27.358
12
5
Fernando Alonso
3
Ferrari
6
No time
+00:29.592
10
6
Nico Hulkenberg
11
Sauber
4
No time
+00:30.400
8
7
Sergio Perez
6
McLaren
7
No time
+00:46.692
6
8
Valtteri Bottas
17
Williams
9
No time
+00:54.509
4
9
Nico Rosberg
9
Mercedes
12
No time
+00:59.141
2
10
Jenson Button
5
McLaren
15
No time
+01:17.278
1
11
Daniel Ricciardo
19
Toro Rosso
10
No time
+01:21.004
0
12
Jean-Eric Vergne
18
Toro Rosso
14
No time
+01:24.574
0
13
Felipe Massa
4
Ferrari
13
No time
+01:26.914
0
14
Esteban Gutierrez
12
Sauber
20
No time
+01:31.707
0
15
Heikki Kovalainen
7
Lotus
8
No time
+01:35.063
0
16
Paul Di Resta
14
Force India
11
No time
+01:36.853
0
17
Pastor Maldonado
16
Williams
17
No time
lapped
0
18
Jules Bianchi
22
Marussia
19
No time
lapped
0
19
Giedo van der Garde
21
Caterham
18
No time
lapped
0
20
Charles Pic
20
Caterham
22
No time
lapped
0
21
Max Chilton
23
Marussia
21
No time
lapped
0
22
Adrian Sutil
15
Force India
16
No time
retired, 0 laps
0
This article "The American Dream: Vettel makes it 8" originally found on Badger GP