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Post Race
With their 1-5 finish in the US, Mercedes Benz is officially the 2017 Formula 1 Constructor’s Champion, locking in a points lead that Ferrari cannot mathematically overcome. In order to secure the Driver’s Championship, Hamilton simply needs to finish at least 5th in Mexico to mathematically eliminate Vettel from the title hunt. Hamilton won the 2016 Mexican GP, while Vettel only managed 5th. It’s pretty safe to say Hamilton will become champion again in Mexico, unless Ferrari has Kimi spear the Mercedes heading into Turn 1.
If Carlos Sainz Jr. is not on your list of drivers to watch in 2018, he should be now. His first time sitting in the Renault RS17 was Thursday and he was able to bring it home to 7th. It is entirely likely he will be the cause of Renault usurping STR for 6th in the Constructor’s points, which will be both hilarious and sad: of the 53 points STR has scored in 2017, 48 of those were scored by Sainz. At this point, he is quite literally beating himself. It’s a bit of a shame for STR as their car has been quite good at times this year. But, racing is a cut throat business. Brendon Hartley performed admirably in his debut race. He had a quiet run, but he brought the car home in a solid 13th. Not bad for his debut performance. If STR hires him for 2018, they should have a balanced pairing of drivers that can maintain STR’s recent championship performances. And who knows, maybe the tiny Italian team can punch above their weight and finally land a podium later in the year.
We can’t talk the USGP without mentioning Haas F1. While there was much to celebrate in 2016, with the team scoring a point at home in their debut season, 2017 held no such celebrations. Kevin Magnussen finished last of the living in 16th, while Romain Grosjean was only able to muster a 14th place finish, exactly where he started the day. Neither Haas was ever in the top 10 in any of the weekend sessions. Haas’s car really isn’t that well suited to the fast flowing tracks like Texas and it really showed. Hopefully they will have some solutions for 2018 because last places finishes just won’t do in ‘Murica!
The Mexican GP is this weekend. Will Hamilton take home his fourth Formula 1 World Championship? Will someone other than Ferrari, Mercedes, or Red Bull finally land on the podium? Will Curly actually be sober for this race? (Don’t bet on it.) Find out when we return to analyze the 2017 Mexican Grand Prix, right here on MotoIQ!
