Classic onboard - Hamilton snatches victory from Vettel
Lewis Hamilton spent the majority of the inaugural race at Austin’s Circuit of The Americas in pursuit of long-time race leader Sebastian Vettel - that was until the German encountered traffic and the race was turned on its head…
If you’ve ever wondered why Sebastian Vettel is so vocal about backmarkers correctly observing blue flags, you need only look back to the 2012 United States Grand Prix. The Red Bull driver had led comfortably from pole, and even though he'd come under increasing pressure from McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton in the latter stages, he looked to have victory in his grasp on the basis that the Briton simply couldn’t get close enough on the right parts of the track to launch an attack. However, that all changed on lap 42 when Vettel encountered Narain Karthikeyan’s backmarking HRT on the approach to the ultra-fast esses and lost momentum. Hamilton - who we ride onboard with - would need no second invitation...
Next Up
Related Articles
How F1 drivers recharge over the summer break
Bearman admits he cannot wait years for Ferrari call
Norris, Piastri and Fornaroli in action for McLaren at Portimao
F1 legends share their thoughts on the 2026 season so far
5 things we learned from the first half of 2026
Long-time Aston Martin engineer set to leave team