Sebastian Vettel secured second position in the United States Grand Prix today, securing the 2012 Constructors’ title for the Red Bull Racing-Renault partnership.
Sebastian started the inaugural race at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, from pole position and controlled the race until lap 42 of 56 when Lewis Hamilton managed to get past and steal the win by just 0.6secs. Sebastian now takes a 13 point advantage over drivers’ title rival Fernando Alonso, who finished in third position, into the final round of the championship in Brazil next week.
Kimi Raikkonen and Romain Grosjean finished in sixth and seventh positions respectively for the Lotus F1 Team. Kimi was running in the top four in the first part of the race, but lost some time in his second stint and was overtaken by Massa and Button. Romain recovered well from a spin on lap five and an early pit stop that dropped him to the rear of the field to give the team a double points finish and consolidate fourth position in the constructors’ championship.
Williams F1 Team’s Pastor Maldonado and Bruno Senna passed the flag in ninth and tenth to give Renault engines five of the top 10 positions. The result, the team’s second consecutive points finish, came after a difficult first lap and a tight battle between the two in the closing stages of the race.
Caterham F1 Team claimed 17th and 18th positions with Vitaly Petrov and Heikki Kovalainen.
Mark Webber did not finish the race for Red Bull Racing after an alternator failure on lap 17 brought his race to a premature end.
The drivers’ championship is now set for a season finale showdown as Sebastian carries a 13 point lead over Alonso. Kimi Raikkonen is third, with Hamilton fourth and Mark fifth. Red Bull Racing now has an unassailable 440 points in the constructors’ championship to Ferrari’s 367 and McLaren’s 353. Lotus F1 Team has 302, while Williams F1 Team is eighth with 76. Caterham F1 Team remains 11th.
