HAMILTON
All the ingredients were there to make the inaugural United States Grand Prix in Austin one of the most highly attended, most festive and most exciting races of the 2012 Formula One season.
The series had been absent from the United States for five years after struggling to find its place in America despite more than half a century of effort. That it made its return was in no small way helped by the race’s taking place at the first purpose-built circuit in the United States.
A capacity crowd of 117,429 watched a wild and suspenseful battle between the remaining contenders for the drivers’ title, Sebastian Vettel of Red Bull and Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso, on a track and at a site that delivered all of its promise and more.
From the sporting point of view, Austin delivered in a way that Indianapolis failed, by providing a track built for Formula One cars. The result was a spectacular race of passing and competition, more akin to Nascar than to the processional Formula One racing of the past that could never seduce American fans.
The Circuit of the Americas, as it is named, left very little to chance. Performing the interviews with the drivers on the podium after the race was Mario Andretti, one of only two Americans to win the Formula One drivers’ title.
“We just witnessed an awesome, awesome race right to the end,” said Andretti, who won the title in 1978 to join Phil Hill, the 1961 champion.
photo credit: 2012 Sutton Images via 2012 gpupdate.net
edited text credit: 2012 Brad Spurdeon via 2012 New York Times
