Formula One: U.S. Grand Prix Preview

Formula One seems to have found a stateside home at the spectacular Circuit of the Americas.

It’s something of an odd pairing to say the least.

But after decades of showcasing itself stateside in a casino parking lot, one clumsy infield road course, a few less-than-optimal city street courses (one of which was said to be outdrawn by an ostrich festival on the same day), or simply not bothering to visit at all, it seems Formula One may have found itself a home in America.

This weekend, for a third straight year, the Formula One circus will descend upon the picturesque 3.427-mile, twenty turn Circuit of the Americas for the 44th installment of the United States Grand Prix. And if the first two runnings at COTA are any indication, Formula One is well on its way to establishing an American home in of all places, Austin, Texas.

Today, AutoRacing1 will preview this weekend’s United States Grand Prix.

Who runs well at COTA?

Sebastian Vettel celebrating his victory last year at COTA.

Well, with only races we have a limited sample. However, World Championship leader Lewis Hamilton won the inaugural event at Circuit of the Americas in 2012, while Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel took the checkered flag in last year’s race. Vettel also won pole for both the 2012 and 2013 races and finished second to Hamilton in 2012.

The other podium finishers at COTA are Lotus’ Romain Grosjean, who came home second in 2013; Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso, who finished third in 2012, and Mark Webber who came home third last year in a Red Bull.

Also, if you go back to the United States Grand Prix’s previous incarnation at Indianapolis, Lewis Hamilton won the 2007 running, a race in which Alonso finished second, and Williams Felipe Massa finished third.

Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen finished second in the 2003 U.S. Grand Prix.

The U.S. Grand Prix has not been kind to 2009 World Champ Jenson Button.

Anyone with a particularly unexceptional record in the U.S. Grand Prix?

In nine U.S. GP starts, McLaren’s Jenson Button has a best finish of fifth (COTA 2012).

What are some of the stories going into the weekend?

Sadly, one of the topics on everyone’s minds will be the current financial state of Grand Prix racing. Of course, there will be only 18 cars on the grid as the Caterham and Marussia teams both went into administration recently. Further, Formula One has endured a number of challenges on the public relations front in 2014. These include:

• Frustration over the dominance of Mercedes
• Dissatisfaction with the new regulations, particularly the less thrilling sounds of the new V6 hybrid turbo-charged power-units
• A decline in worldwide television viewing audience a significant spotlight is being shed on the future of the sport, and the notion that F1 has ‘lost its way.’
• The very-poorly received double points finale at Bahrain.

You won't see this car at COTA. But the financial climate of F1 that has forced Caterham and Marussia to miss the U.S. Grand Prix will be a hot topic of discussion in Austin.

Throw in the fact, F1 has long struggled to make an imprint stateside, the timing of the Caterham and Marussia failures was probably not ideal. And you can expect a fair amount of talk about the current less-than-ideal state of the sport over the next three days in Austin.

What about on track?

Although the Constructors’ Championship was settled in Sochi, the battle for the World Drivers’ Championship does remain very much in the balance, with Hamilton clinging to a 17-point lead over teammate Rosberg. While it should be noted that Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo does remain mathematically alive for the world title 92 points behind Hamilton, the reality is the championship is a battle between the Mercedes duo. And recently, all of the momentum has been with Hamilton.

Is there anyone who may challenge the Silver Arrows?

Valtteri Bottas has been on the podium five times in the last nine races. But it's hard to see the Finn making the stop step this weekend.

Although, it certainly would make for a more entertaining weekend, I seriously doubt it.

While Williams Valtteri Bottas has slowly closed the qualifying gap to Mercedes, he was still four-tenths behind in qualifying at Sochi and six-tenths behind at Suzuka. Jenson Button and McLaren have also made steps forward in recent weeks, while Daniel Ricciardo has been the most consistent threat to Mercedes all season.

Still, no one has shown anything of late suggesting they are about to best the Mercedes duo. Should anyone other than Hamilton or Rosberg challenge for a win it will likely be a function of Mercedes error.

What about Ferrari?

The unique Alonso-Raikkonen pairing has not worked out for the Scuderia.

With McLaren taking a huge step forward at Sochi it’s conceivable that the Scuderia are the fifth-best team on the grid right now. In fact, over the last ten Grand Prix, Kimi Raikkonen and Fernando Alonso have a combined three finishes better than fifth.

Combine this less-than-stellar on-track performance, with the managerial changes this season at the Scuderia, plus the constant Alonso leaving/Vettel arriving back-and-forth, and these are not good times at Maranello.

Surely the Prancing Horse will be back on the top-step of Grand Prix podiums at some point in time. But for Alonso, Raikkonen and everyone else at Maranello this disastrous 2014 cannot end soon enough.

Brian C's bold prediction: you may see something resembling this on the victory rostrum Sunday.

So, who wins?

Hamilton.

Yes, I pick him every week. But Formula One right now is a one-team/two-driver battle. And while Rosberg has more than stood firm relative to his more celebrated teammate when it comes to Hamilton v. Rosberg, I’ll take the Brit.

Hamilton makes it five in a row, in winning the United States GP.

Brian Carroccio is a columnist for AutoRacing1. He can be contacted at BrianC@AutoRacing1.com.