2017 F1 Round 17 United States GP – Hamilton wins as Mercedes seals constructors’ title

The 2017 United States Grand Prix ran over 56 laps at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin. Lewis Hamilton won in 1h33m50.991s, with Sebastian Vettel second, 10.143 seconds behind, and Kimi Räikkönen third. Mercedes clinched the constructors’ championship, while the drivers’ title remained open heading to the next round.

Vettel passed polesitter Hamilton at the start and led the first five laps. Mercedes soon showed greater pace, and Hamilton overtook him on lap six to regain control of the race. Ferrari was unable to turn its early track position into victory.

Vettel made his first stop three laps before Hamilton and briefly closed in on fresh tyres. Hamilton just retained the position after stopping on lap 20, then pulled away again. Vettel made a second stop on lap 39, while Hamilton completed the race with one stop.

Vettel dropped to fourth after his tyre change, then caught and passed Valtteri Bottas later in the race. Ferrari subsequently had its two cars swap positions, moving Vettel into second to limit his points loss. Bottas’s tyres did not allow him to sustain his defence, and he finished fifth.

Max Verstappen charged from 16th after power-unit penalties and passed Räikkönen on the final lap to cross the line third. He received a five-second penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage during the move. The final classification placed him fourth and Räikkönen third, changing the podium order from the positions at the finish.

Esteban Ocon finished sixth, Carlos Sainz seventh on his Renault debut and Sergio Pérez eighth. Felipe Massa and Daniil Kvyat took the remaining points. Brendon Hartley finished 13th on his Formula 1 debut. Lance Stroll and Stoffel Vandoorne were 11th and 12th respectively, outside the points.

Daniel Ricciardo, Nico Hülkenberg and Fernando Alonso retired with mechanical problems. Pascal Wehrlein retired after making contact with Kevin Magnussen on the opening lap. Romain Grosjean was 14th, Marcus Ericsson 15th and Magnussen 16th, all completing 55 laps, one lap behind the winner. There were 16 finishers.

Hamilton left the race with 331 points to Vettel’s 265, a gap of 66. Mercedes secured the constructors’ title with 575 points against Ferrari’s 428. Vettel’s second place kept him mathematically in contention for the drivers’ championship, while fifth place in Mexico would be enough for Hamilton to clinch the title.