Track: Circuit of the Americas
Number of Laps: 56
Circuit Length: 3.4 miles (5.5km)
Race Length: 191.9 miles (309.9km)
Start Time: 20:00 BST
Fastest Lap: 1:35.657 (Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull Racing Renault, 2012, Q3)
Fastest Race Lap: 1:39.347 (Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull Racing Renault)
2015 Pole Position: Nico Rosberg, Mercedes AMG Petronas, 1:56.824, Wet Tyres
2015 Race Winner: Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes AMG Petronas
Tyre Compounds: Supersoft, Soft, Medium, Intermediate, Wet
First F1 Championship Grand Prix (Country/Circuit): 1950/2012
Most Wins (Country/Circuit): Michael Schumacher (5)/Lewis Hamilton (3), Scuderia Ferrari (9)/Mercedes (2)
Lewis Hamilton is the most successful driver on the grid when it comes to the US Grand Prix. He has been victorious in four of the last five races in America and is the only multiple winner on the Circuit of the Americas – the track where he claimed his third world title last season.
The Brit will need to make full use of his experience in America for 2016. He desperately needs to win this race in order to close the gap to his teammate Nico Rosberg in the standings. Hamilton is 33 points behind Rosberg with just four races to go – meaning that he needs the German to slip up in at least one Grand Prix to have any hope of winning the title.
Although the Constructors’ Championship is sealed, there are still some battles to be resolved. Williams trail fourth-placed Force India by 10 points coming into the weekend, but Pat Symonds has confirmed that the Grove-based outfit have received a power unit upgrade from Mercedes. Whether Force India have also been given the upgrade is yet to be confirmed.
Ferrari trail best of the rest Red Bull by 50 points, but should the weather remain dry then they have a chance to reduce the deficit. The final two sectors will suit the Scuderia’s better straight line speed, but the tight and twisty first sector will benefit Red Bull’s traditional superb chassis.
Haas will be desperate to finish with a good result in their maiden home race. They haven’t scored points since the Austrian Grand Prix back in July – agonisingly finishing 11th four times since. Esteban Gutierrez in particular needs a strong result – his contract is up at the end of the season and he is yet to score a point in 2016. His teammate Grosjean has scored 28 in that time.
Will Hamilton fight back in Austin? Can Gutierrez break his duck? Keep checking Read Motorsport throughout the weekend to make sure you stay up to date with the latest Formula One news.
