Team by team analysis of the U.S. Grand Prix

(Reuters) – Team by team analysis of Sunday’s U.S. Formula One Grand Prix in Austin, Texas. (round 19 of 21 races):

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MERCEDES (Valtteri Bottas 1, Lewis Hamilton 2)

Hamilton became the second Formula One driver after Michael Schumacher to win six championships, while Bottas started on pole and took his fourth win of the season. The podium was the 150th of Hamilton’s F1 career and the title his fifth in the last six years with Mercedes. The win was Mercedes 14th of the season and ninth one-two finish. The podium was Hamilton’s eighth at the U.S. race, a record.

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FERRARI (Charles Leclerc 4, Sebastian Vettel retired)

Ferrari’s race pace disappeared early on, with Vettel dropping immediately from second on the grid and then sidelined with a broken rear right suspension after eight laps. Leclerc, using an older engine after a failure in qualifying, finished 52 seconds behind Bottas. He took a bonus point for the fastest lap.

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RED BULL (Max Verstappen 3, Alexander Albon 5)

Verstappen started third and ran in second place for much of the race on a two-stop strategy. He might have finished second but for yellow flags towards the end and floor damage to his car. Albon lined up sixth, was squeezed out at the start and damaged his car’s floor and front wing. After pitting, he fought from last to fifth, made three stops and beat Hamilton in the public vote for Driver of the Day.

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MCLAREN (Lando Norris 7, Carlos Sainz 8)

British rookie Norris, 20 next week, started eighth and celebrated his last race as a teenager with a strong points haul. He was fifth after the first few corners. Sainz started seventh but his race was compromised when he tangled with Albon at turn one. McLaren held the gap between themselves and Renault at 38 points.

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RENAULT (Daniel Ricciardo 6, Nico Hulkenberg 9)

Renault scored the same points tally as McLaren and look set to end the season in fifth, a backwards step from last year’s fourth. Ricciardo, starting ninth and on a one-stop strategy, had his best race since Italy in September. He was fifth on worn tyres until Albon passed him eight laps from the end. Hulkenberg fell from 11th to 13th at the start but did two stops and passed Gasly and Perez in the closing laps.

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RACING POINT (Sergio Perez 10, Lance Stroll 13)

Perez’s precious points lifted Racing Point clear of Toro Rosso. He and Kvyat collided on the last lap but the Russian was penalised, restoring the Mexican’s 10th place. Stroll hit a bump at turn two and fell down the field. He switched to a two-stop strategy but still suffered from tyre wear.

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TORO ROSSO (Daniil Kvyat 12, Pierre Gasly 16)

Kvyat finished 10th on the track but collected a five-second penalty for what he thought was a ‘harsh but fair’ move on Perez. Gasly also banged wheels with Perez and retired with a broken front suspension. Toro Rosso fell behind Racing Point.

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ALFA ROMEO (Kimi Raikkonen 11, Antonio Giovinazzi 14)

No points for last year’s race winner Raikkonen, then with Ferrari. Both drivers did two stops.

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HAAS (Romain Grosjean 15, Kevin Magnussen 18)

Magnussen ended up in the gravel with brake problems two laps from the end but was classified. Grosjean finished in the same place he had started.

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WILLIAMS (George Russell 17, Robert Kubica retired)

Kubica retired with an hydraulic leak shortly after the half-distance. Russell struggled with overheating tyres.