Race Notes - Lewis Hamilton wins United States GP in Austin

Lewis Hamilton won the United States Grand Prix, in Austin, Texas, today in the McLaren-Mercedes, after stalking and then making a late race pass on polesitter Sebastian Vettel in the Red Bull-Renault, who finished in second place, 0.6 seconds behind. Fernando Alonso, after starting seventh, kept his chances in the Drivers Championship alive by finishing third in the Ferrari, a distant 39 seconds behind the winner.

Red Bull has clinched the World Constructos' Championship for a third straight season. Hamilton becomes the first winner of the race at the new Circuit of the Americas. Hamilton was the last winner of the United States Grand Prix, held in Indianapolis in 2007.

Vettel holds a 13 lead over Alonso in the Drivers Championship, and will be settled next week at Interlagos in Brazil.

Felipe Massa (46.0s) in the second Ferrari finished in fourth place, followed by Jenson Button (56.44s) in the McLaren in fifth place, Kimi Raikkonen (64.4s) in the Lotus-Renault in sixth place, his team mate Romain Grosjean (70.3s) in seventh place, Nico Hulkenberg (73.7s) in the Force India-Mercedes was eighth, Pastor Maldonado (74.5s) in the Williams-Renault was ninth followed by his team mate Bruno Senna (75.1s) in the final points paying position.

At the start Vettel leads, Webber passes Hamilton into the first corner, while Alonso is up to fourth from seventh on the grid.

followed by Schumacher, Hulkenberg, Raikkonen, Grosjean, Di Resta and Massa in tenth.

Perez passes Senna for 11th.

On lap 2 Hulkenberg passes Schumacher for fifth place in the first corner.

Raikkonen passes Schumacher, but the German comes back to retake the position. Into the hairpin Grosjean passes both Raikkonen and Schumacher to take sixth place.

On lap 3 Vettel leads by 1.8 seconds, Hamilton attempts a pass on Webber, but can not get by tge Australian.

On lap 4 Hamilton passes Webber in the DRS zone to take second place, and sets fastest lap at 1m45.4s.

On lap 5 Maldonado and Button are battling for 13th place.

On lap 6 Vettel sets fastest lap, but Hamilton then sets it at 1m44.2s, 2.6 seconds separating the pair.

On lap 7 Grosjean spins at turn 19, but rejoins, Massa, Schumacher and Perez getting past. Senna passes Grosjean as well.

On lap 8 Button passes Grosjean, the Frenchman falling to 13th place. Hamilton sets fastest lap at 1m43.6s.

On lap 9 Ricciardo and Maldonado pass Grosjean. Hamilton sets fastest lap at 1m43.2s.

On lap 10 Grosjean pits, switching from medium to hard tyres. Button passes Schumacher for 12th, but the German squeezes him into the corner, not giving the McLaren driver much room.

At lap 10 Vettel leads Hamilton by 1.5 seconds, followed by Webber (6.0s), Alonso (9.5s), Hulkenberg (18.0s), Raikkonen (18.4s), Di Resta (24.9s), Massa (25.5s) and Perez (27.0s).

On lap 11 Raikkonen is closing on Hulkenberg in fifth place.

On lap 12 Massa passes Di Resta for seventh place.

On lap 13 Raikkonen battles Hulkenberg and makes an outside pass through the esses. Vettel sets fastest lap at 1m43.1s.

On lap 14 Maldonado passes Schumacher for 13th place. Kobayashi pits and changes to the hard tyre. Hamilton closes to under a second behind the leader Vettel.

On lap 15 Schumacher pits for hard tyres.

On lap 16 Vergne pulls off the track, having broken his suspension on the kerbs in the esses.

On lap 17 Red Bull report to Webber that the KERS has failed. Later in the lap Webber pulls off the track to retire. Hulkenberg pits from sixth place to take hard tyres.

On lap 19 Grosjean sets fastest lap at 1m42.4s. Alonso runs wide at the final corner but continues.

On lap 21 Hamilton and Alonso pit. Alonso has a slow stop at 6.1 seconds. Vettel pits from the lead the next lap with a quick stop to hard tyres.

At lap 22 Vettel leads Raikkonen by 1.0 seconds, yet to pit, followed by Hamilton (2.1s), Massa (5.0s), Alonso (21.3s), Button (21.8s), Ricciardo (22.6s), Perez (24.2s), Rosberg (28.1s) and Hulkenberg (32.3s) in tenth place.

On lap 23 Perez pits from eighth.

Button, yet to pit, passes Alonso for fifth, the Ferrari drivers tyres not up to tempeture.

On lap 24 Petrov pits. Hamilton passes Raikkonen, yet to pit, to take second place. Senna sets fastest lap at 1m42.3s.

On lap 25 Raikkonen pits from third place with a slow stop and rejoins behind Alonso. Ricciardo passes Raikkonen. Hamilton sets fastest lap at 1m41,8s.

On lap 26 Massa makes his pitstop from third place and rejoins in fifth behind his team mate.

On lap 27 Hamilton sets fastest lap again at 1m41.7s and closes to 1,5 seconds behind the leader.

Ricciardo, yet to pit, passes Massa for fifth place. Raikkonen closes on Massa and passes him in the first corner to take sixth.

On lap 29 Grosjean passes Rosberg for eighth place. Button, Ricciardo and Rosberg have still yet to make their pitstops.

On lap 31 Ricciardo makes his stop from fifth place, and rejoins in , while Di Resta pits as well. Hamilton re-sets fastest lap at 1m41.6s

At lap 32 Vettel continues to lead Hamilton by 2.1 seconds, followed by Button (25.8s), Alonso (28.7s), Raikkonen (38.4s), Massa (39.6s), Grosjean (41.6s), Rosberg (45.1s), Hulkenberg (46.4s) and Senna (47.1s) in tenth place.

Pm lap 32 Hamilton sets another fastest lap at 1m41.5s and closes on the leader to 1.6 seconds.

On lap 33 Hamilton goes faster at 1m41.2s and closes to 1.2 seconds, and continues and is under the one second and within DRS range, and is only 0.6s behind the next lap.

On lap 35 Rosberg pits. Hamilton is now stalking Vettel. Vettel sets fastest lap at 1m40.9s and holds a 0.9 seconds lead.

On lap 36 Button makes his pitstop from third place and rejoins in sixth. Grosjean passes Button for sixth place. Vettel sets another fastest lap at 1m40.9s.

On lap 38 Vettel has stabilized the gap to Hamilton at around one second.

On lap 39 Button, up to speed on new tyres, passes Grosjean back for sixth.

On lap 40 Massa passes Raikkonen at the first corner to take fourth place. Schumacher pits for a second time.

At lap 40 Vettel leads Hamilton by 0.6 seconds, followed by Alonso (31.2s), Massa (42.9s), Raikkonen (45.9s), Button (46.5s), Grosjean (48.1s), Hulkenberg (54.7s), Senna (55.8s) and Maldonado (57.5s) in tenth place.

On lap 42 Massa sets fastest lap at 1m40.5s. Hamilton makes a run in the DRS zone and passes Vettel and takes the lead.

On lap 43 Hamilton sets fastest lap at 1m40.2s and pulls out a 1.3 second lead over Vettel.

Vettel complains to the team of his displeasure at the ease of passing with DRS.

On lap 45 Button passes Raikkonen into turn 12 to take fifth place.

On lap 46 Alonso sets fastest lap at 1m40.1s.

Hamilton maintains just over a one second lead ahead of Vettel.

At lap 50 Hamilton leads Vettel by 1.2 seconds, followed by Alonso (34.6s), Massa (46.2s), Button (51.8s), Raikkonen (60.7s), Grosjean (61.3s), Hulkenberg (64.6s), Senna (65.6s) and Maldonado (66.2s).

On lap 51 Senna passes Hulkenberg, but the German comes back and retakes eighth place.

On lap 53 Maldonado passes his team mate Senna in the first corner to take ninth place.

On lap 54 Vettel sets fastest lap. Massa beats the time, and then Hamilton bests it with a 1m39.9s.

On lap 55 Hamilton goes fastest with a 1m39.7s.

On lap 56 Hamilton takes with win with Vettel second, under a second behind, and Alonso third. Vettel sets fastest lap on the last lap at 1m49.3s.