2016 United States Grand Prix: F1 Race, Qualifying & Winners

Lewis Hamilton kept his championship hopes alive with victory in Austin. Nico Rosberg limited the damage by finishing second, while Daniel Ricciardo completed the podium after an afternoon shaped by contrasting strategies and a virtual safety car.

Result	Driver / Time	Team
Pole position	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes
Pole time	1:34.999
Fastest lap	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari
Fastest-lap time	1:39.877 on lap 55
First	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes
Second	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes
Third	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull Racing

Weekend Schedule

Date	Session	Local Time
21 October 2016	Practice 1	10:00 – 11:30
21 October 2016	Practice 2	14:00 – 15:30
22 October 2016	Practice 3	10:00 – 11:00
22 October 2016	Qualifying	13:00
23 October 2016	Race	14:00

All times are local. The race time is the scheduled start; weather delays and interruptions are described below.

Championship background

Nico Rosberg arrived at round 18 leading the 2016 F1 World Championship on 313 points, with Lewis Hamilton on 280. Mercedes headed the constructors’ standings with 593 points.

Race entries

The 11 teams kept the same race line-ups for the United States Grand Prix. Alfonso Celis, Jordan King also took part in practice.

Free Practice

Lewis Hamilton led FP1 as Jordan King made his first Formula One weekend appearance for Manor and Alfonso Celis Jr. drove the Force India. Jolyon Palmer and Daniil Kvyat both spun but continued. Once the opening quick laps were complete, teams concentrated on longer runs and used-tyre performance around Austin.

Dry, sunny FP2 allowed a full tyre programme, a marked change from the previous year’s washout. Nico Rosberg set the pace as teams moved from quick laps into race simulations. Debris on the circuit briefly brought out the red flags, interrupting the longer runs before practice resumed.

Max Verstappen led FP3, but Mercedes did not complete a representative final challenge. Pascal Wehrlein’s spin into the gravel caused a lengthy stoppage, and Nico Rosberg later abandoned a supersoft lap after encountering traffic. The disruptions left the relationship between Red Bull and Mercedes less clear than the final order suggested.

Free Practice 1 Classification

2016 United States Grand Prix FP1, 21 October 2016

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	1:37.428	25
2	6	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	+0.315s	27
3	33	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing	+1.951s	28
4	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	+1.979s	21
5	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Force India	+2.284s	27
6	77	Valtteri Bottas	Williams	+2.348s	30
7	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull Racing	+2.535s	26
8	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	+2.560s	15
9	26	Daniil Kvyat	Toro Rosso	+2.703s	16
10	55	Carlos Sainz	Toro Rosso	+2.712s	26
11	19	Felipe Massa	Williams	+2.763s	27
12	12	Felipe Nasr	Sauber	+2.859s	16
13	14	Fernando Alonso	McLaren	+2.934s	26
14	8	Romain Grosjean	Haas	+3.398s	15
15	21	Esteban Gutierrez	Haas	+3.542s	15
16	9	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber	+3.742s	17
17	34	Alfonso Celis	Force India	+3.994s	27
18	22	Jenson Button	McLaren	+4.235s	21
19	20	Kevin Magnussen	Renault	+4.514s	22
20	42	Jordan King	Manor Racing	+4.584s	29
21	30	Jolyon Palmer	Renault	+4.904s	31
22	31	Esteban Ocon	Manor Racing	+6.446s	27

Free Practice 2 Classification

2016 United States Grand Prix FP2, 21 October 2016

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	6	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	1:37.358	33
2	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull Racing	+0.194s	33
3	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	+0.291s	32
4	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	+0.820s	35
5	33	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing	+0.900s	27
6	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Force India	+1.150s	32
7	11	Sergio Perez	Force India	+1.210s	31
8	22	Jenson Button	McLaren	+1.355s	29
9	14	Fernando Alonso	McLaren	+1.443s	30
10	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	+1.507s	31
11	55	Carlos Sainz	Toro Rosso	+1.613s	31
12	20	Kevin Magnussen	Renault	+1.801s	23
13	12	Felipe Nasr	Sauber	+1.831s	28
14	77	Valtteri Bottas	Williams	+1.839s	34
15	26	Daniil Kvyat	Toro Rosso	+1.844s	36
16	19	Felipe Massa	Williams	+1.923s	30
17	30	Jolyon Palmer	Renault	+2.097s	34
18	8	Romain Grosjean	Haas	+2.196s	24
19	31	Esteban Ocon	Manor Racing	+2.728s	27
20	21	Esteban Gutierrez	Haas	+2.756s	26
21	9	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber	+2.861s	28
22	94	Pascal Wehrlein	Manor Racing	+3.773s	31

Free Practice 3 Classification

2016 United States Grand Prix FP3, 22 October 2016

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	33	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing	1:36.766	16
2	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull Racing	+0.266s	19
3	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	+0.518s	15
4	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	+0.717s	12
5	6	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	+1.018s	10
6	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	+1.128s	8
7	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Force India	+1.182s	17
8	77	Valtteri Bottas	Williams	+1.422s	16
9	22	Jenson Button	McLaren	+1.446s	14
10	14	Fernando Alonso	McLaren	+1.686s	13
11	11	Sergio Perez	Force India	+1.746s	16
12	30	Jolyon Palmer	Renault	+1.762s	14
13	19	Felipe Massa	Williams	+1.841s	15
14	26	Daniil Kvyat	Toro Rosso	+1.925s	16
15	55	Carlos Sainz	Toro Rosso	+1.944s	6
16	21	Esteban Gutierrez	Haas	+2.173s	13
17	8	Romain Grosjean	Haas	+2.331s	13
18	20	Kevin Magnussen	Renault	+2.339s	14
19	9	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber	+2.473s	14
20	12	Felipe Nasr	Sauber	+2.743s	14
21	31	Esteban Ocon	Manor Racing	+3.005s	19
22	94	Pascal Wehrlein	Manor Racing	+4.661s	7

Qualifying

Lewis Hamilton headed qualifying for Mercedes, with Nico Rosberg second and Daniel Ricciardo third.

Lewis Hamilton took pole at the Circuit of the Americas, with Nico Rosberg alongside. Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen occupied the second row, setting up another Mercedes–Red Bull contest at the front.

Qualifying Classification

2016 United States Grand Prix Qualifying, 22 October 2016

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Q1	Q2	Q3	Laps
1	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	1:36.296	1:36.450	1:34.999	13
2	6	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	1:36.397	1:36.351	1:35.215	13
3	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull Racing	1:36.759	1:36.255	1:35.509	12
4	33	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing	1:36.613	1:36.857	1:35.747	12
5	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	1:36.985	1:36.584	1:36.131	12
6	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	1:37.151	1:36.462	1:36.358	13
7	27	Nico Hülkenberg	Force India	1:36.950	1:36.626	1:36.628	12
8	77	Valtteri Bottas	Williams	1:37.456	1:37.202	1:37.116	12
9	19	Felipe Massa	Williams	1:37.402	1:37.214	1:37.269	12
10	55	Carlos Sainz	Toro Rosso	1:37.744	1:37.175	1:37.326	14
11	11	Sergio Pérez	Force India	1:37.345	1:37.353	—	10
12	14	Fernando Alonso	McLaren	1:37.913	1:37.417	—	11
13	26	Daniil Kvyat	Toro Rosso	1:37.844	1:37.480	—	12
14	21	Esteban Gutiérrez	Haas	1:38.053	1:37.773	—	10
15	30	Jolyon Palmer	Renault	1:38.084	1:37.935	—	9
16	9	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber	1:38.040	1:39.356	—	11
17	8	Romain Grosjean	Haas	1:38.308	—	—	8
18	20	Kevin Magnussen	Renault	1:38.317	—	—	6
19	22	Jenson Button	McLaren	1:38.327	—	—	6
20	94	Pascal Wehrlein	Manor Racing	1:38.548	—	—	9
21	12	Felipe Nasr	Sauber	1:38.583	—	—	8
22	31	Esteban Ocon	Manor Racing	1:38.806	—	—	8

What happened in the 2016 United States Grand Prix?

Hamilton led into the first corner, while Ricciardo moved ahead of Rosberg. Opening-lap contact compromised several midfield runners, including Valtteri Bottas and Nico Hülkenberg, as Hamilton began building his advantage.

Max Verstappen‘s gearbox failure brought a virtual safety car. The interruption helped Rosberg move ahead of Ricciardo through the pit-stop sequence, restoring a Mercedes one-two behind Hamilton’s leading car.

Kimi Räikkönen‘s race ended after a pit stop left a wheel insecure. Hamilton remained clear of the trouble and secured victory, reducing Rosberg’s championship lead while his team-mate retained a comfortable second place.

Sebastian Vettel finished fourth behind Ricciardo. Fernando Alonso fought through to fifth ahead of Carlos Sainz and Felipe Massa, while Jenson Button scored points in ninth. Hamilton left Austin 26 points behind Rosberg.

Further down the points places, Felipe Massa, Sergio Pérez, Jenson Button and Romain Grosjean completed the scoring positions. Sebastian Vettel set the fastest lap, but no bonus point was awarded under the 2016 rules.

After the race, Nico Rosberg headed the drivers’ standings with 331 points, followed by Lewis Hamilton on 305. Mercedes led the constructors’ table on 636, with Red Bull Racing on 400.

2016 United States Grand Prix race results

The 2016 United States Grand Prix was held on 23 October 2016, with a scheduled start of 14:00 local time.

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Laps	Time / Retired	Pts.
1	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	56	1:38:12.618	25
2	6	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	56	+4.520	18
3	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull Racing	56	+19.692	15
4	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	56	+43.134	12
5	14	Fernando Alonso	McLaren	56	+1:33.953	10
6	55	Carlos Sainz	Toro Rosso	56	+1:36.124	8
7	19	Felipe Massa	Williams	55	+1 Lap	6
8	11	Sergio Pérez	Force India	55	+1 Lap	4
9	22	Jenson Button	McLaren	55	+1 Lap	2
10	8	Romain Grosjean	Haas	55	+1 Lap	1
11	26	Daniil Kvyat	Toro Rosso	55	+1 Lap	0
12	20	Kevin Magnussen	Renault	55	+1 Lap	0
13	30	Jolyon Palmer	Renault	55	+1 Lap	0
14	9	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber	55	+1 Lap	0
15	12	Felipe Nasr	Sauber	55	+1 Lap	0
16	77	Valtteri Bottas	Williams	55	+1 Lap	0
17	94	Pascal Wehrlein	Manor Racing	55	+1 Lap	0
18	31	Esteban Ocon	Manor Racing	54	+2 Laps	0
Ret	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	38	Loose wheel	0
Ret	33	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing	28	Gearbox	0
Ret	21	Esteban Gutiérrez	Haas	16	Brakes	0
Ret	27	Nico Hülkenberg	Force India	1	Collision damage	0

Kevin Magnussen received a five-second penalty after the race for an illegal overtake on Daniil Kvyat.

2016 United States Grand Prix Fastest Laps

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Lap	Time of Day	Time	Avg. Speed
1	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	55	15:40:53	1:39.877	198.712
2	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	26	14:49:27	1:41.841	194.880
3	6	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	34	15:04:13	1:41.897	194.773
4	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	45	15:22:55	1:42.386	193.842
5	33	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing	28	14:53:06	1:42.424	193.770
6	20	Kevin Magnussen	Renault	45	15:25:23	1:42.475	193.674
7	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull Racing	51	15:33:29	1:42.555	193.523
8	55	Carlos Sainz	Toro Rosso	33	15:03:19	1:42.832	193.002
9	19	Felipe Massa	Williams	33	15:03:21	1:43.414	191.915
10	14	Fernando Alonso	McLaren	36	15:08:36	1:43.502	191.752
11	31	Esteban Ocon	Manor Racing	46	15:28:17	1:43.585	191.599
12	11	Sergio Perez	Force India	33	15:03:40	1:43.925	190.972
13	12	Felipe Nasr	Sauber	55	15:43:13	1:44.117	190.620
14	8	Romain Grosjean	Haas	35	15:07:19	1:44.335	190.221
15	22	Jenson Button	McLaren	37	15:10:43	1:44.468	189.979
16	30	Jolyon Palmer	Renault	18	14:36:18	1:44.724	189.515
17	26	Daniil Kvyat	Toro Rosso	48	15:30:26	1:44.730	189.504
18	77	Valtteri Bottas	Williams	34	15:06:15	1:44.977	189.058
19	9	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber	19	14:38:05	1:45.140	188.765
20	21	Esteban Gutierrez	Haas	15	14:30:52	1:45.364	188.364
21	94	Pascal Wehrlein	Manor Racing	36	15:09:41	1:45.451	188.208

Only drivers with a recorded lap time appear. Average speeds are in km/h. No fastest-lap bonus point was awarded. Time of Day is local.

2016 Post-Race F1 Championship Standings

Championship standings after the 2016 United States Grand Prix.

2016 Post-Race F1 Drivers' Championship Standings

POS	Driver	Nationality	Car	PTS
1	Nico Rosberg	German	Mercedes	331
2	Lewis Hamilton	British	Mercedes	305
3	Daniel Ricciardo	Australian	Red Bull Racing	227
4	Sebastian Vettel	German	Ferrari	177
5	Kimi Räikkönen	Finnish	Ferrari	170
6	Max Verstappen	Dutch	Toro Rosso / Red Bull Racing	165
7	Sergio Pérez	Mexican	Force India	84
8	Valtteri Bottas	Finnish	Williams	81
9	Nico Hülkenberg	German	Force India	54
10	Fernando Alonso	Spanish	McLaren	52
11	Felipe Massa	Brazilian	Williams	49
12	Carlos Sainz	Spanish	Toro Rosso	38
13	Romain Grosjean	French	Haas	29
14	Daniil Kvyat	Russian	Red Bull Racing / Toro Rosso	25
15	Jenson Button	British	McLaren	21
16	Kevin Magnussen	Danish	Renault	7
17	Jolyon Palmer	British	Renault	1
18	Pascal Wehrlein	German	Manor Racing	1
19	Stoffel Vandoorne	Belgian	McLaren	1
20	Esteban Gutiérrez	Mexican	Haas	0
21	Marcus Ericsson	Swedish	Sauber	0
22	Felipe Nasr	Brazilian	Sauber	0
23	Rio Haryanto	Indonesian	Manor Racing	0
24	Esteban Ocon	French	Manor Racing	0

2016 Post-Race F1 Constructors' Championship Standings

POS	Car	PTS
1	Mercedes	636
2	Red Bull Racing	400
3	Ferrari	347
4	Force India	138
5	Williams	130
6	McLaren	74
7	Toro Rosso	55
8	Haas	29
9	Renault	8
10	Manor Racing	1
11	Sauber	0

2016 Formula 1 Race Calendar

Round	Grand Prix	Circuit	Date
1	2016 Australian Grand Prix	Albert Park Circuit, Melbourne	20 March
2	2016 Bahrain Grand Prix	Bahrain International Circuit, Sakhir	3 April
3	2016 Chinese Grand Prix	Shanghai International Circuit, Shanghai	17 April
4	2016 Russian Grand Prix	Sochi Autodrom, Sochi	1 May
5	2016 Spanish Grand Prix	Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, Montmeló	15 May
6	2016 Monaco Grand Prix	Circuit de Monaco, Monte Carlo	29 May
7	2016 Canadian Grand Prix	Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve, Montréal	12 June
8	2016 European Grand Prix	Baku City Circuit, Baku	19 June
9	2016 Austrian Grand Prix	Red Bull Ring, Spielberg	3 July
10	2016 British Grand Prix	Silverstone Circuit, Silverstone	10 July
11	2016 Hungarian Grand Prix	Hungaroring, Mogyoród	24 July
12	2016 German Grand Prix	Hockenheimring, Hockenheim	31 July
13	2016 Belgian Grand Prix	Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Stavelot	28 August
14	2016 Italian Grand Prix	Autodromo Nazionale di Monza, Monza	4 September
15	2016 Singapore Grand Prix	Marina Bay Street Circuit, Singapore	18 September
16	2016 Malaysian Grand Prix	Sepang International Circuit, Sepang	2 October
17	2016 Japanese Grand Prix	Suzuka International Racing Course, Suzuka	9 October
18	2016 United States Grand Prix	Circuit of the Americas, Austin, Texas	23 October
19	2016 Mexican Grand Prix	Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, Mexico City	30 October
20	2016 Brazilian Grand Prix	Autódromo José Carlos Pace, São Paulo	13 November
21	2016 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix	Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi	27 November