F1 US GP: Ranking the 5 best races at Circuit of the Americas

#2 2012 United States Grand Prix

Hamilton secured his last victory while driving for McLaren

The 2012 United States Grand Prix is the inaugural F1 race at the Circuit of the Americas. Driving the McLaren, Lewis Hamilton took the race win to mark his last victory for the team before moving to Mercedes in 2013.

Sebastian Vettel started the race from pole position alongside Lewis Hamilton and needed to finish ahead of Fernando Alonso as the German was on the brink of winning the drivers’ championship. The Spaniard, however, struggled in Q3 and started the race from the seventh place.

Vettel had a dream start and maintained the race lead during the first half of the race. However, the Briton’s precision drive enabled him to slip past the German on lap 42 to secure the race lead. From there on, Hamilton held his ground and took the chequered flag just 0.675 seconds ahead of Sebastian Vettel.

Alonso recovered and finished the race in the third spot, which ensured that the championship would be settled in the last race of the season.