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Hamilton speeds to victory again
published: Monday | June 18, 2007
McLaren Mercedes Formula One driver Lewis Hamilton, of Britain, celebrates after winning the United States Grand Prix auto race at the indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis yesterday. - AP Photo/Oliver Multhaup
INDIANAPOLIS (AP)
Rookie sensation Lewis Hamilton did it again, racing to his second straight Formula One victory in yesterday's U.S. Grand Prix.
The first black driver in Formula One's 61-year history has finished all seven races this season in the top three. He now leads McLaren teammate and two-time world champion Fernando Alonso by 10 points in the standings.
The two finished 1-2 for the third time this season, but this time the order was reversed from Malaysia in April and last month's race at Monaco as the 22-year-old Englishman added this victory to his inaugural F1 triumph last week in the Canadian Grand Prix.
"Coming into the season, being realistic, I never expected anything like this, but I hoped to do well," Hamilton said. "I hoped maybe I'd get a podium at some point. This is just insane."
Tried to pass
Alonso tried hard to pass his less experienced teammate at the start, darting to the outside and pulling nearly alongside Hamilton for a moment, then backing off and driving to the inside as the leaders squirted through the first two narrow turns, a sharp right-hander and then a left-hander.
"I think the start was the key point of the race because after that, whatever, you were second and we finish second in the race," Alonso said.
Hamilton managed to stay in front and was able to continue to fend off the pressure by the hard-charging Spaniard to the end of the 73-lap event on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway's 4.192-kilometre (2.605-mile) road circuit.
Alonso almost wrested the lead from Hamilton on lap 39. He had been dogging the back of his teammate's McLaren for several laps and pulled alongside on the main straightaway but was unable to complete the pass.
The outcome was still in question until Alonso locked up his brakes on lap 47 and drove through the grass, allowing Hamilton to pull out to a 2.5-second lead.
No challenge
Hamilton drove on to the win without further challenge, finishing 1.5 seconds ahead of Alonso.
"To follow that close is not easy," Alonso said. "I did have my chance (at the end of lap 38), but it was not possible. I could get close to him but not overtake. He made no mistakes."
As he crossed the line, Hamilton yelled excitedly into his radio: "We brought it home. Fantastic guys, I love you all." He followed that transmission with a joyous cackle that brought a response from his engineer: "We love you too, Lewis."
Unlike Canada, where Hamilton had to have perfect restarts to maintain his lead after each of the five full-course caution flags, yesterday's race was very clean, with the safety car remaining behind the pit wall all day.
Reports earlier in the week that Alonso thought his new teammate was being given preference by the British-based McLaren team were allayed by the warm hug they gave each other when they reached the victory podium.
The two then turned to the cheering crowd with arms over each other's shoulders, smiling widely.
The Ferraris of Felipe Massa and Kimi Raikkonen battled each other most of the day before finishing third and fourth, respectively, with Renault rookie Heikki Kovalainen fifth, followed by Toyota's Jarno Trulli and Red Bull's Mark Webber.
BMW Sauber's Sebastian Vettel, a 19-year-old rookie filling in for Robert Kubica and making his first F1 start, finished eighth, earning the final point. Kubica missed the race after sustaining a concussion and a sprained ankle in a spectacular crash in Canada.
Fifteen of the 22 cars were running at the finish.
Honda's Rubens Barrichello, a former USGP winner when he was with Ferrari, didn't make it past the start, colliding with Toyota's Ralf Schumacher and Red Bull's David Coulthard as they fought for position near the back of the grid on the start. All three were out before completing a lap.
published: Monday | June 18, 2007
McLaren Mercedes Formula One driver Lewis Hamilton, of Britain, celebrates after winning the United States Grand Prix auto race at the indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis yesterday. - AP Photo/Oliver Multhaup
INDIANAPOLIS (AP)
Rookie sensation Lewis Hamilton did it again, racing to his second straight Formula One victory in yesterday's U.S. Grand Prix.
The first black driver in Formula One's 61-year history has finished all seven races this season in the top three. He now leads McLaren teammate and two-time world champion Fernando Alonso by 10 points in the standings.
The two finished 1-2 for the third time this season, but this time the order was reversed from Malaysia in April and last month's race at Monaco as the 22-year-old Englishman added this victory to his inaugural F1 triumph last week in the Canadian Grand Prix.
"Coming into the season, being realistic, I never expected anything like this, but I hoped to do well," Hamilton said. "I hoped maybe I'd get a podium at some point. This is just insane."
Tried to pass
Alonso tried hard to pass his less experienced teammate at the start, darting to the outside and pulling nearly alongside Hamilton for a moment, then backing off and driving to the inside as the leaders squirted through the first two narrow turns, a sharp right-hander and then a left-hander.
"I think the start was the key point of the race because after that, whatever, you were second and we finish second in the race," Alonso said.
Hamilton managed to stay in front and was able to continue to fend off the pressure by the hard-charging Spaniard to the end of the 73-lap event on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway's 4.192-kilometre (2.605-mile) road circuit.
Alonso almost wrested the lead from Hamilton on lap 39. He had been dogging the back of his teammate's McLaren for several laps and pulled alongside on the main straightaway but was unable to complete the pass.
The outcome was still in question until Alonso locked up his brakes on lap 47 and drove through the grass, allowing Hamilton to pull out to a 2.5-second lead.
No challenge
Hamilton drove on to the win without further challenge, finishing 1.5 seconds ahead of Alonso.
"To follow that close is not easy," Alonso said. "I did have my chance (at the end of lap 38), but it was not possible. I could get close to him but not overtake. He made no mistakes."
As he crossed the line, Hamilton yelled excitedly into his radio: "We brought it home. Fantastic guys, I love you all." He followed that transmission with a joyous cackle that brought a response from his engineer: "We love you too, Lewis."
Unlike Canada, where Hamilton had to have perfect restarts to maintain his lead after each of the five full-course caution flags, yesterday's race was very clean, with the safety car remaining behind the pit wall all day.
Reports earlier in the week that Alonso thought his new teammate was being given preference by the British-based McLaren team were allayed by the warm hug they gave each other when they reached the victory podium.
The two then turned to the cheering crowd with arms over each other's shoulders, smiling widely.
The Ferraris of Felipe Massa and Kimi Raikkonen battled each other most of the day before finishing third and fourth, respectively, with Renault rookie Heikki Kovalainen fifth, followed by Toyota's Jarno Trulli and Red Bull's Mark Webber.
BMW Sauber's Sebastian Vettel, a 19-year-old rookie filling in for Robert Kubica and making his first F1 start, finished eighth, earning the final point. Kubica missed the race after sustaining a concussion and a sprained ankle in a spectacular crash in Canada.
Fifteen of the 22 cars were running at the finish.
Honda's Rubens Barrichello, a former USGP winner when he was with Ferrari, didn't make it past the start, colliding with Toyota's Ralf Schumacher and Red Bull's David Coulthard as they fought for position near the back of the grid on the start. All three were out before completing a lap.