Hamilton Returns to Favorite Track

“Love the energy at Circuit of the Americas. I’m looking forward to getting out on the track next week!” Lewis Hamilton tweeted after his win at the Japan Formula One. 

And there is good reason.  Hamilton, the second-most winning Formula One racer, has won four of five United States Grand Prix races at Circuit of the Americas (COTA).    And he is well positioned for a trifecta this weekend at COTA: winning the US Grand Prix, the Drivers Championship, and the Constructors Crown for the Mercedes AMG Petronas team.  This would be Hamilton’s fourth Formula One world championship

Hamilton needs to outscore Sebastian Vettel by 16 points and Valtteria Bottas by three
points to take the 2017 title.  If Hamilton wins, he is world champion if Vettel finishes sixth or lower.  If he finishes second, he is world champion if Vettel finishes ninth or lower and Bottas fails to win.  Otherwise the title race goes on to Mexico to decide the championship. 

Hamilton was optimistic, yet realistic, about the prospects in Austin.  “There’s still a long way to go,” he said. “One hundred points is a lot of points. Anything can happen in life. I’ve just got to try to keep my head down and hopefully continue to perform like this.”

“To be honest, there is not really any need to change my approach,” he told reporters in Japan, his fifth win in seven races. “I’m not taking crazy risks to be in the position I’m in” he said.  “We will continue to try and keep doing what we are doing. Sometimes, when you come off the gas a little, you cause yourself more trouble than you need.”

Andy Nietupski (anietupski@ttlsports.com)