Formula 1 returned to USA after a 5 year sabbatical. A new track was built in Austin, Texas and it promised state-of-the-art facilities and varying gradients on a very challenging track.

The first turn itself was a steep climb towering at 41 m, a recipe for incidents at the start of the race. This track would test the true prowess of the drivers.

However this race was pivotal for 3 reasons. The outcome of this Grand Prix would influence future ventures for Formula 1 in North America.

Red Bull Racing were on the brink of winning their 3rd consecutive Constructor's Title while Sebastien Vettel was on the verge of becoming a Triple World Champion. Ferrari had nothing too lose and it was clear that they would channelise all their efforts in ensuring that Alonso still has a shot at the title at the final race of the season in Brazil.

Let us see how the drama unfolded!

 

 

FREE PRACTICE :

  

Sebastian Vettel was the fastest driver in both FP1 and FP 2. He set a time 1.5 seconds faster than Lewis Hamilton in FP1, and 2 seconds faster than title rival Fernando Alonso. The session was run without incident, though drivers reported that there was very little grip around the circuit. Ma Qinghua was the only reserve driver to take part in the session, replacing Narain Karthikeyan at HRT. He finished the session in twenty-fourth and last position, 10 seconds behind Vettel.

Vettel was again fastest in the FP2. Mark Webber and Alonso completed the top 3. Vettel's running was limited by a water leak that forced him to spend half the session in the pits, while Caterham's Heikki Kovalainen suffered a puncture when he made contact with Scuderia Toro Rosso driver Jean-Eric Vergne.  Pastor Maldonado suffered an engine failure in his Williams late in the session.

Vettel topped the timesheets in FP3 too. Hamilton was 2nd Fastest. The hour-long session was marked by a collision between Sauber's Sergio Perez and the Marussia of Charles Pic that damaged the floor of Pic's car. Perez escaped without penalty. much to the annoyance of Marussia. Jean-Eric Vergne also ran into further trouble, breaking his front suspension when he hit a kerb and stopped on the circuit.

 

 

QUALIFYING :

 

There was very litte grip on the circuit in Q1. Every team sent their drivers out for extended runs  with the objective of laying down enough rubber on the circuit to improve their overall lap time, and trying to time their final flying runs to take full advantage of the circuit.

HRT were initially concerned that they would fail to qualify inside the 107% cut-off, however their decision to send Pedro de la Rosa and Narain Karthikeyan out on the softer option tyres, paid dividends as they made the cut. Karthikeyan's session ended early when he pulled over onto the tarmac run-off at Turn 2, the victim of a mechanical fault.

Caterham's Vitaly Petrov struggled early in the session with traffic, and spent most of the twenty minutes outside the 107% cut-off. His final flying lap saw him qualify 21st for the race, one place ahead of team-mate Heikki Kovalainen. Daniel Ricciardo was the seventh and final driver eliminated at the end of Q1.

Sebastian Vettel, who had recorded the fastest time in Q1, went on to beat his best time in Q2. The faster lap times now meant that the softer option compound was a necessity. Despite narrowly beating Ricciardo in Q1, Nico Rosberg was unable to improve his time in Q2, and qualified in 17th overall. The Saubers of Perez and Kobayashi filled out the 8th row of the grid. Jean-Eric Vergne overcame his free practice dramas to qualify 14th. Paul di Resta was disappointed to be eliminated in Q2 when team-mate Nico Hulkenberg comfortably progressed to Q3. Jenson Button had to settle for 12th overall when his McLaren MP4-27 lost all power late in the period, and he later admitted that he was afraid of getting caught up in what he called a "chaotic first lap". Bruno Senna was the last driver eliminated in Q2, qualifying in 11th place.

Sebastian Vettel took pole position with the fastest lap of the weekend. In spite of this, Lewis Hamilton was closer to Vettel than he had been all weekend, missing pole position by just one tenth of a second. Mark Webber qualified 3rd, ahead of Romain Grosjean, who was later demoted to 9th when he received a five-place grid penalty for an unscheduled gearbox change. Kimi Raikkonen , Michael Schumacher,  Felipe Massa, Nico Hulkenberg, Fernando Alonso, Pastor Maldonado completed the top ten.

 

 

Michael Schumacher and Mark Webber were summoned to the stewards' office after qualifying. Schumacher had been cited for blocking Alonso during Q2. Schumacher escaped without punishment, as he had been on a flying lap of his own at the time, and blocking Alonso had not prevented him from advancing to Q3.

Webber, on the other hand, was called to answer charges of missing the mandatory weight check at the end of qualifying. The stewards accepted that Red Bull Racing had made an error and saw that the car was immediately sent to scrutineering once it was realised. Webber escaped with a reprimand, thereby allowing him to keep his grid position for the race.

 

However Ferrari would produce the greatest story of the day. The Team broke the seal of the gearbox of Massa's car causing him to accept a 5 place grid - penalty which would demote him from 7th to 12th and promoted Alonso from 8th to 7th. This allowed the Spaniard to start from the cleaner side of the track and help keep his title hopes alive.

Red Bull too could have countered this move in a similar fashion using Webber and send Alonso back to the dirtier side. However they chose otherwise. Sportsmanship lacking again in this decision by Ferrari.

 

 

RACE :

The Grip on the grid varied drastically between the Cleaner side and the Dirtier side of the Track.

The Five Lights went out and a lot happened going into the First Turn. The Prediction was right, starters on the Dirty Side suffered lack of Traction and lost places rapidly. Sebastian Vettel pulled cleanly away from P1. Mark Webber attacked Lewis Hamilton around the outside in the battle for 2nd. However it was a sensational start for Fernando Alonso who climbed from 7th to 4th in his Ferrari ! Lewis Hamilton lost out to Mark Webber for second, but managed to hold off Alonso.

Michael Schumacher, who started 5th had a terrible lap. First he lost out to Nico Hulkenberg and then to Kimi Raikkonen only to fight back and reclaim his place but in doing so, left the door open to Romain Grosjean who passed both in one move ( Lap 2 )

Lewis Hamilton and Mark Webber were squabbling for 2nd place while Vettel pulled away from the pair. Hamilton's efforts finally paid dividends on Lap 4 as he passed Webber for 2nd.