Formula 1 Wiki
Register
Advertisement

The 2007 United States Grand Prix, otherwise advertised as the XXXVI RBS United States Grand Prix was the seventh round of the 2007 FIA Formula One World Championship, staged at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indiana, USA, on 17 June 2007.[1][2] The race, which would see future World Champion Sebastian Vettel make his Grand Prix debut, was won by rookie racer Lewis Hamilton after a race long duel with his teammate Fernando Alonso.[2]

Vettel got his chance to make his F1 debut with BMW Sauber, for their second driver Robert Kubica was unable to race after his heavy accident in Canada.[2] The German youth, then a member of the Red Bull Junior Team, would partner Nick Heidfeld for the US Grand Prix at the expense of his Formula Renault 3.5 Series title bid.[2]

Vettel would impress during qualifying, claiming seventh just two places behind veteran teammate Heidfeld.[2] Out front, meanwhile, the session would be dominated by the two McLaren-Mercedes, with Hamilton edging out teammate Alonso to claim pole position after exchanging barrages of quick times.[2]

After their intense duel in qualifying all eyes would be on the McLarens at the start of the race, with both making fairly even getaways.[2] As a results, Hamilton would instantly dart to the inside of the circuit to belay any dive from Alonso into the first corner, with the Spaniard hence having to settle for second.[2]

However, there would be drama behind, as Vettel ran wide before Ralf Schumacher misjudged his turn-in point and slammed into the side of David Coulthard.[2] That contact destroyed the Toyota's front-right suspension, with the pair duly sliding into Rubens Barrichello, who was left with damage.[2]

Giancarlo Fisichella would then go to the back of the field with a pirouette of his own making at turn four, as the order began to stabilise.[2] Hamilton would hence maintain a lead over Alonso, which settled at two seconds, with Felipe Massa giving chase in the #5 Ferrari.[2] Heidfeld and Heikki Kovalainen were next ahead of Kimi Räikkönen, whom had been jumped by those two at the start, while Vettel found himself fighting at the back of the top ten with Nico Rosberg.[2]

Hamilton and Alonso would ease clear during the first stint, with the duo trading fastest laps as they sprinted towards their first stops.[2] As expected it was Hamilton who was the first to blink, diving in on lap 20, although Alonso would only manage one lap more and hence rejoin still behind his rookie teammate.[2]

With Massa and Heidfeld also stopping it was Kovalainen who briefly inherited the lead, while Jarno Trulli found himself in third, splitting the two McLarens.[2] An irate Alonso lost a lot of time barging his way past his former teammate, with Kovalainen stopping on lap 28 to hand the lead back to Hamilton and drop himself back to eighth.[2]

The lead battle would ebb and flow throughout the second stint, with Hamilton consistently losing time behind back markers to allow Alonso to gain ground.[2] This came to a head on lap 38 when a rather stubborn Vitantonio Liuzzi held up Hamilton on the run to the back straight, and hence allowed Alonso to draft alongside his rookie teammate.[2] Hamilton, however, would have the inside line for the first corner, and duly held the lead, further fuelling Alonso's frustration.[2]

Their fight rumbled on through the second stops and into the final stint of the race, with Alonso weaving around behind his teammate in a desperate bid to throw him off.[2] Behind, Massa was in a lonely third place, while Räikkönen was steadily reeling in his teammate having jumped Heidfeld during the second pit phase.[2]

Yet, for all his running nose-to-tail behind his teammate at the head of the field, there would be no late move for victory from Alonso, and hence it was Hamilton who claimed victory in the USA.[2] Behind, Massa cruised across the line a distant third ahead of Räikkönen, with Kovalainen, Trulli, Mark Webber and debutante Vettel claiming the remaining points.[2]

Background[]

A maiden victory for Lewis Hamilton would put the British rookie back on top of the Drivers' Championship leaving Canada, and with 48 points to his name having yet to finish off the podium. His title defending teammate Fernando Alonso was forced to make way for him and dropped eight behind, while Felipe Massa would leave Montreal fifteen points off the lead. Kimi Räikkönen had likewise lost ground in fourth, with Nick Heidfeld having closed right onto the Finn's tail in fifth.

In the Constructors Championship it was McLaren-Mercedes who once again ended the weekend on top, leaving Montreal with 88 points to their name and a 28 point advantage. Ferrari were still their closest challengers, but would need two strong weekends just to get back on terms with the Anglo-German alliance. BMW Sauber, meanwhile, had enhanced their grip on third ahead of Renault, while Williams-Toyota had held on to fifth.

Entry list[]

The full entry list for the 2007 United States Grand Prix is outlined below:

No. Driver Entrant Constructor Chassis Engine Model Tyre
1 Spain Fernando Alonso United Kingdom Vodafone McLaren Mercedes McLaren MP4-22 Mercedes FO 108T 2.4 V8 B
2 United Kingdom Lewis Hamilton United Kingdom Vodafone McLaren Mercedes McLaren MP4-22 Mercedes FO 108T 2.4 V8 B
3 Italy Giancarlo Fisichella France ING Renault F1 Team Renault R27 Renault RS27 2.4 V8 B
4 Finland Heikki Kovalainen France ING Renault F1 Team Renault R27 Renault RS27 2.4 V8 B
5 Brazil Felipe Massa Italy Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro Ferrari F2007 Ferrari 056 2007 2.4 V8 B
6 Finland Kimi Räikkönen Italy Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro Ferrari F2007 Ferrari 056 2007 2.4 V8 B
7 United Kingdom Jenson Button Japan Honda Racing F1 Team Honda RA107 Honda RA807E 2.4 V8 B
8 Brazil Rubens Barrichello Japan Honda Racing F1 Team Honda RA107 Honda RA807E 2.4 V8 B
9 Germany Nick Heidfeld Germany BMW Sauber F1 Team BMW Sauber F1.07 BMW P86/7 2.4 V8 B
10 Germany Sebastian Vettel Germany BMW Sauber F1 Team BMW Sauber F1.07 BMW P86/7 2.4 V8 B
11 Germany Ralf Schumacher Japan Panasonic Toyota Racing Toyota TF107 Toyota RVX-07 2.4 V8 B
12 Italy Jarno Trulli Japan Panasonic Toyota Racing Toyota TF107 Toyota RVX-07 2.4 V8 B
14 United Kingdom David Coulthard Austria Red Bull Racing Red Bull RB3 Renault RS27 2.4 V8 B
15 Australia Mark Webber Austria Red Bull Racing Red Bull RB3 Renault RS27 2.4 V8 B
16 Germany Nico Rosberg United Kingdom AT&T Williams Williams FW29 Toyota RVX-07 2.4 V8 B
17 Austria Alexander Wurz United Kingdom AT&T Williams Williams FW29 Toyota RVX-07 2.4 V8 B
18 Italy Vitantonio Liuzzi Italy Scuderia Toro Rosso Toro Rosso STR2 Ferrari 056 2006 2.4 V8 B
19 United States Scott Speed Italy Scuderia Toro Rosso Toro Rosso STR2 Ferrari 056 2006 2.4 V8 B
20 Germany Adrian Sutil Netherlands Etihad Alder Spyker F1 Team Spyker F8-VII Ferrari 056 2006 2.4 V8 B
21 Netherlands Christijan Albers Netherlands Etihad Alder Spyker F1 Team Spyker F8-VII Ferrari 056 2006 2.4 V8 B
22 Japan Takuma Sato Japan Super Aguri F1 Team Super Aguri SA07 Honda RA807E 2.4 V8 B
23 United Kingdom Anthony Davidson Japan Super Aguri F1 Team Super Aguri SA07 Honda RA807E 2.4 V8 B
Test Drivers for Practice Sessions Only
38 Japan Kazuki Nakajima United Kingdom AT&T Williams Williams FW29 Toyota RVX-07 2.4 V8 B
Source:[3]

Practice Overview[]

Qualifying[]

Q1[]

Q2[]

Q3[]

Qualifying Results[]

The full qualifying results for the 2007 United States Grand Prix are outlined below:

Pos. No. Driver Team Q1 Q2 Q3 Grid
Pos. Time Pos. Time Pos. Time
1 2 United Kingdom Lewis Hamilton United Kingdom McLaren-Mercedes 3 1:12.563 2 1:12.065 1 1:12.331 1
2 1 Spain Fernando Alonso United Kingdom McLaren-Mercedes 1 1:12.416 1 1:11.926 2 1:12.500 2
3 5 Brazil Felipe Massa Italy Ferrari 5 1:12.731 4 1:12.180 3 1:12.703 3
4 6 Finland Kimi Räikkönen Italy Ferrari 6 1:12.732 3 1:12.111 4 1:12.839 4
5 9 Germany Nick Heidfeld Germany BMW Sauber 2 1:12.543 5 1:12.188 5 1:12.847 5
6 4 Finland Heikki Kovalainen France Renault 8 1:12.998 6 1:12.599 6 1:13.308 6
7 10 Germany Sebastian Vettel Germany BMW Sauber 4 1:12.711 8 1:12.644 7 1:13.513 7
8 12 Italy Jarno Trulli Japan Toyota 12 1:13.186 10 1:12.828 8 1:13.789 8
9 15 Australia Mark Webber Austria Red Bull-Renault 16 1:13.425 9 1:12.788 9 1:13.871 9
10 3 Italy Giancarlo Fisichella France Renault 11 1:13.168 7 1:12.603 10 1:13.953 10
11 14 United Kingdom David Coulthard Austria Red Bull-Renault 15 1:13.424 11 1:12.873 11
12 11 Germany Ralf Schumacher Japan Toyota 7 1:12.851 12 1:12.920 12
13 7 United Kingdom Jenson Button Japan Honda 14 1:13.306 13 1:12.998 13
14 16 Germany Nico Rosberg United Kingdom Williams-Toyota 9 1:13.128 14 1:13.060 14
15 8 Brazil Rubens Barrichello Japan Honda 13 1:13.203 15 1:13.201 15
16 23 United Kingdom Anthony Davidson Japan Super Aguri-Honda 10 1:13.164 16 1:13.259 16
17 17 Austria Alexander Wurz United Kingdom Williams-Toyota 17 1:13.441 17
18 22 Japan Takuma Sato Japan Super Aguri-Honda 18 1:13.477 18
19 18 Italy Vitantonio Liuzzi Italy Toro Rosso-Ferrari 19 1:13.484 19
20 19 United States Scott Speed Italy Toro Rosso-Ferrari 20 1:13.712 20
21 20 Germany Adrian Sutil Netherlands Spyker-Ferrari 21 1:14.122 21
22 21 Netherlands Christijan Albers Netherlands Spyker-Ferrari 22 1:14.597 22
Source:[4]
  • T Indicates a driver used their test/spare car to set their best time in that session.
  • Bold indicates the fastest driver's time in each session.

Grid[]

Pos. Pos.
Driver Driver
______________
Row 1 1 ______________
Lewis Hamilton 2
______________ Fernando Alonso
Row 2 3 ______________
Felipe Massa 4
______________ Kimi Räikkönen
Row 3 5 ______________
Nick Heidfeld 6
______________ Heikki Kovalainen
Row 4 7 ______________
Sebastian Vettel 8
______________ Jarno Trulli
Row 5 9 ______________
Mark Webber 10
______________ Giancarlo Fisichella
Row 6 11 ______________
David Coulthard 12
______________ Ralf Schumacher
Row 7 13 ______________
Jenson Button 14
______________ Nico Rosberg
Row 8 15 ______________
Rubens Barrichello 16
______________ Anthony Davidson
Row 9 17 ______________
Alexander Wurz 18
______________ Takuma Sato
Row 10 19 ______________
Vitantonio Liuzzi 20
______________ Scott Speed
Row 11 21 ______________
Adrian Sutil 22
______________ Christijan Albers

Race[]

Report[]

Results[]

The full results for the 2007 United States Grand Prix are outlined below:

Pos. No. Driver Constructor Laps Time/Retired Grid Points
1 2 United Kingdom Lewis Hamilton United Kingdom McLaren-Mercedes 73 1:31:09.965 1 10
2 1 Spain Fernando Alonso United Kingdom McLaren-Mercedes 73 +1.518s 2 8
3 5 Brazil Felipe Massa Italy Ferrari 73 +12.842s 3 6
4 6 Finland Kimi Räikkönen Italy Ferrari 73 +15.422s 4 5
5 4 Finland Heikki Kovalainen France Renault 73 +41.402s 6 4
6 12 Italy Jarno Trulli Japan Toyota 73 +1:06.703 8 3
7 15 Australia Mark Webber Austria Red Bull-Renault 73 +1:07.331 9 2
8 10 Germany Sebastian Vettel Germany BMW Sauber 73 +1:07.783 7 1
9 3 Italy Giancarlo Fisichella France Renault 72 +1 Lap 10
10 17 Austria Alexander Wurz United Kingdom Williams-Toyota 72 +1 Lap 17
11 23 United Kingdom Anthony Davidson Japan Super Aguri-Honda 72 +1 Lap 16
12 7 United Kingdom Jenson Button Japan Honda 72 +1 Lap 13
13 19 United States Scott Speed Italy Toro Rosso-Ferrari 71 +2 Laps 20
14 20 Germany Adrian Sutil Netherlands Spyker-Ferrari 71 +2 Laps 21
15 21 Netherlands Christijan Albers Netherlands Spyker-Ferrari 70 +3 Laps 22
16* 16 Germany Nico Rosberg United Kingdom Williams-Toyota 68 Engine 14
17* 18 Italy Vitantonio Liuzzi Italy Toro Rosso-Ferrari 68 Water pressure 19
Ret 9 Germany Nick Heidfeld Germany BMW Sauber 56 Gearbox 5
Ret 22 Japan Takuma Sato Japan Super Aguri-Honda 13 Spin 18
Ret 14 United Kingdom David Coulthard Austria Red Bull-Renault 0 Damage 11
Ret 8 Brazil Rubens Barrichello Japan Honda 0 Damage 15
Ret 11 Germany Ralf Schumacher Japan Toyota 0 Collision 12
Source:[5]
  • T Indicates a driver used their test/spare car.
  • * Rosberg and Liuzzi were still classified despite retiring as they had completed 90% of the race distance.[5]

Milestones[]

Standings[]

Lewis Hamilton had extended his Championship lead as a result of the US Grand Prix, with his second victory in succession taking him up to 58 points for the campaign. That meant he held a ten point advantage over teammate Fernando Alonso, while Felipe Massa in third had slipped nineteen points behind in third. Kimi Räikkönen also looked to have fallen too far back to challenge in fourth, as Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel added their names to the scorer's list.

In the Constructors Championship it was, unsurprisingly, McLaren-Mercedes who once again left a Grand Prix in 2007 with an enhanced lead, their third one-two of the campaign putting them on 106 points. Ferrari hence had continued their tumble away from the lead, slipping back by 35 points, while BMW Sauber were an even more distant third on 39. Renault had hence made a little ground on the German-Swiss alliance, while Williams-Toyota held station in fifth once again.

World Championship for Drivers
Pos. Driver Pts. +/-
1 United Kingdom Lewis Hamilton 58
2 Spain Fernando Alonso 48
3 Brazil Felipe Massa 39
4 Finland Kimi Räikkönen 32
5 Germany Nick Heidfeld 26
6 Italy Giancarlo Fisichella 13
7 Poland Robert Kubica 12
8 Finland Heikki Kovalainen 12 ▲1
9 Austria Alexander Wurz 8 ▼1
10 Italy Jarno Trulli 7 ▲3
11 Germany Nico Rosberg 5 ▼1
12 United Kingdom David Coulthard 4 ▼1
13 Japan Takuma Sato 4 ▼1
14 Australia Mark Webber 2 ▲1
15 Germany Ralf Schumacher 2 ▼1
16 Germany Sebastian Vettel 1 ▲7
World Championship for Constructors*
Pos. Team Pts. +/-
1 United Kingdom McLaren-Mercedes 106
2 Italy Ferrari 71
3 Germany BMW Sauber 39
4 France Renault 25
5 United Kingdom Williams-Toyota 13
6 Japan Toyota 9
7 Austria Red Bull-Renault 6
8 Japan Super Aguri-Honda 4

Only points scoring drivers and constructors are shown.

References[]

Images and Videos:

References:

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 '7. USA 2007', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2014), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2007/etats-unis.aspx, (Accessed 15/02/2020)
  2. 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 2.14 2.15 2.16 2.17 2.18 2.19 2.20 2.21 2.22 2.23 'US 2007: Stonewall Hamilton takes Brickyard win.', crash.net, (Crash Media Group, 17/06/2007), https://www.crash.net/f1/race-report/58948/1/us-2007-stonewall-hamilton-takes-brickyard-win, (Accessed 14/02/2020)
  3. 'USA 2007: Entrants', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2014), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2007/etats-unis/engages.aspx, (Accessed 14/02/2020)
  4. '2007 FORMULA 1™ United States Grand Prix - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 2006), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2007/races/814/united-states/qualifying.html, (Accessed 15/02/2020)
  5. 5.0 5.1 'USA 2007: Result', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2016), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2007/etats-unis/classement.aspx, (Accessed 15/02/2020)
  6. [Archived] '2007 United States GP', chicanef1.com, (Chicane F1, 2014), https://web.archive.org/web/20190412065724/http://chicanef1.com/racetit.pl?year=2007&gp=United%20States%20GP&r=1, (Accessed 15/02/2020) - Original
V T E Promotional Trophy
Races 197519761977197819791980198119821983198419851986198719881989199019911992199319941995199619971998199920002001200220032004200520062007200820092010201120122013201420152016201720182019
V T E United States United States Grand Prix
Circuits Sebring (1959), Riverside (1960), Watkins Glen (1961–1980), Phoenix (1989–1991), Indianapolis (2000–2007), Austin (2012–present)
CircuitoftheAmericas2012
Formula One Races 19591960196119621963196419651966196719681969197019711972197319741975197619771978197919801981–19881989199019911992–1999200020012002200320042005200620072008–2011201220132014201520162017201820192020202120222023
Non-F1 races 1908190919101911191219131914191519161917–1957 • 1958
See also Miami Grand PrixLas Vegas Grand PrixUnited States Grand Prix WestIndianapolis 500Detroit Grand PrixCaesars Palace Grand PrixDallas Grand PrixQuestor Grand Prix
V T E 2007 Formula One Season
Teams McLaren • Renault • Ferrari • Honda • BMW Sauber • Toyota • Red Bull • Williams • Toro Rosso • Spyker • Super Aguri
Engines BMW • Ferrari • Honda • Mercedes • Renault • Toyota
Drivers Alphabetically Albers • Alonso • Barrichello • Button • Coulthard • Davidson • Fisichella • Hamilton • Heidfeld • Kovalainen • Kubica • Liuzzi • Massa • Nakajima • Räikkönen • Rosberg • Sato • R. Schumacher • Speed • Sutil • Trulli • Vettel • Webber • Winkelhock • Wurz • Yamamoto
Drivers by Number Alonso • 2 Hamilton • 3 Fisichella • 4 Kovalainen • 5 Massa • 6 Räikkönen • 7 Button • 8 Barrichello • 9 Heidfeld • 10 Kubica • 10 Vettel • 11 R. Schumacher • 12 Trulli • 14 Coulthard • 15 Webber • 16 Rosberg • 17 Wurz • 17 Nakajima • 18 Liuzzi • 19 Speed • 19 Vettel • 20 Sutil • 21 Albers • 21 Winkelhock • 21 Yamamoto • 22 Sato • 23 Davidson
Other Drivers Badoer • De la Rosa • Doornbos • Fauzy • Gené • Glock • Karthikeyan • Klien • Kobayashi • Loeb • Montagny • Paffett • Piquet • Rossiter • M. Schumacher • Van der Garde • Zonta
Cars Ferrari F2007 • BMW Sauber F1.07 • Renault R27 • Williams FW29 • Red Bull RB3 • Toyota TF107 • Toro Rosso STR2 • Honda RA107 • Super Aguri SA07 • Spyker F8-VII • McLaren MP4-22
Tyres Bridgestone
Races Australia • Malaysia • Bahrain • Spain • Monaco • Canada • United States • France • Britain • Europe • Hungary • Turkey • Italy • Belgium • Japan • China • Brazil
See also 2006 Formula One Season • 2008 Formula One Season • Category
v·d·e Nominate this page for Featured Article
Advertisement