United States Grand Prix: Race Preview

US GP – Race for the second?

With both the Drivers and Constructors title already wrapped up by Sebastian Vettel and Red Bull, there are still going to be a lot of fireworks lower down the order in the championship.

Formula 1 will move to the USA this weekend for the eighteenth round of the season. This will mark the second year in succession for the Grand Prix at Austin, Texas. The United States Grand Prix, which returned last year after a four year hiatus, was a huge success as it attracted around 117,429 spectators. Also, the track in itself was praised for being difficult than other tracks to master.

The 2012 edition was won by Lewis Hamilton, who overtook pole sitter Sebastian Vettel, to claim his last victory for McLaren. This year Hamilton, will try to maintain his unbeaten record at the United States, while Vettel will try to claim his eighth consecutive win of the season, and thus inching ever closer to Alberto Ascari’s record of nine consecutive wins. Nico Rosberg and Mark Webber also have a decent shot at winning here, while Romain Grosjean can also spark up a surprise win here.

Who will clinch second place in the Constructors?

After a tough fight with Ferrari, Mercedes finally seem to be inching closer to obtaining second place in the constructors championship. They have been hugely helped by Nico Rosberg’s scintillating results at India and Abu Dhabi. Though Mercedes currently seem to be having an upper hand, but still Ferrari cannot be underestimated, whose drivers Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa will be looking to gather as many points as possible, to keep the fight with Mercedes alive. While Lotus, once a strong contender for second place, has now fallen behind. With Kimi Raikkonen sitting out the last two races due to back surgery, Lotus have pinned all their hopes on Romain Grosjean.

Can McLaren keep Force India at bay to strengthen its hold on fifth place in the championship?

Also further back in the standings, the fight is still on for fifth place between McLaren and Force India. Force India recently has had resurgence in form, but McLaren is almost certain to at least salvage this position as a disappointing and forgettable season for them finally nears its end. Sauber have also improved their performance, although it looks to be too late for them, but still they can have a pretty strong weekend here.

Will Caterham still succeed in getting ahead of Marussia?

While the fight at the back of the grid between Caterham and Marussia still continues. Marussia are currently tenth in the standings, thanks to the 13th place of Jules Bianchi at Malaysia. Although Caterham have outpaced Marussia most of the time this season , but they are still not able to get that important 13th place, and will have to rely upon retirement of other cars in the race in order to score that position.

Even though the championship has already been decided, there is still a lot to play for among other teams and drivers, who will try their utmost to remain or get ahead of their rivals, before finally the curtains draw on the season.