U.S. Grand Prix (2014): RESULT

Nico Rosberg is on pole for the 2014 United States Grand Prix at Austin, Texas, but can Lewis Hamilton take the win to extend his lead in the championship?

After a run of wins in recent races, Lewis Hamilton has taken the lead in the drivers championship, but a strong performance by team mate Nico Rosberg sees Hamilton starting second in the US Grand Prix and seemingly unable to match Rosberg’s pace.

But when push came to shove it was Hamilton the racer on show at the Circuit of the Americas, sweeping past Rosberg at the halfway stage and controlling the race from the front, extending his lead in the championship and making him the most successful British Grand Prix driver ever with 32 wins – one more than Nigel Mansell.

Behind him, Rosberg took second place and Daniel Ricciardo was on the podium once again as the best of the also rans in his Red Bull.

Behind Ricciardo it was the Williams of Massa and Bottas with Fernando Alonso managing to take sixth place ahead of Sebastian Vettel, who started from the pit lane and managed to work his way from last to seventh spot in the final few laps after a late tyre change.

Kevin Magnussen in the McLaren took eighth place and Jean-Eric Vergne ninth with Pastor Maldonado in the last points place for Lotus, although he effectively swaps places with Vergne after Vergne got a five second penalty for a pass on Maldonado.

McLaren’s Jenson Button drove a good race and defended well, but his worn tyres proved too much in the closing laps and he dropped from eighth to 12th.

But the day was Lewis Hamilton’s as he secured his place at the pinnacle of British Motor Sport and gave himself a lead of 24 points in the drivers championship with just two races to go.

But the elephant in the room is still the final double points race, where a season of hard work could still be undone with a single stroke of unreliability.