Valteri Bottas must win the USA Grand Prix to stop Hamilton from claiming the drivers championship and he is in the perfect position to do so.
Bottas must win the US GP to stand any chance of stopping Hamilton – second place or lower would guarantee Hamilton the championship.
If anyone thought he would crumble under the pressure then they are now silent as Bottas will start from pole position after an impressive qualifying session.
Vettel will fancy his chances from second spot and Verstappen, who showed great pace in practice, will be on the second row.
Hamilton seemed to struggle for pace and could only manage fifth place behind Leclerc who had to deal with car trouble.
Here’s a look at what you need to know about the USA GP.
THE TRACK
- Circuit name: Circuit of the Americas
- First grand prix: 2012
- Number of laps: 56
- Circuit length: 5.513km
- Race distance: 308.405km
- Lap record: 1:37.392 by Lewis Hamilton in 2018
- 2018 podium: 1st Kimi Räikkönen (Ferrari); 2nd Max Verstappen (Red Bull); 3rd Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
THE WEATHER
KEY QUOTE
“I’m really happy about it, it was a nice lap at the beginning of Q3 and you rarely get those kind of laps. On a track like this it’s tricky. It worked this morning with finding all the details and it was good to find all the places I really focus on. I knew how to put it together and it was a nice feeling to get it done in Q3.” – Valtteri Bottas.
OUR PICK
With the long straights on this circuit, you have to be keen on Ferrari who have superior straight-line speed.
We’re tipping that Vettel will make use of DRS in sector 2 and overtake Bottas early in the race which will see him take victory.
At 5/1 we think he’s a good bet.
Value Pick
Keep an eye on Ricciardo for top 6 betting as he has been in great form with his overtaking and has managed his tyres very well.
He could be value starting from 9th position.
