Lewis Hamilton (P2, 18 pts): 9/10
Lewis Hamilton desperately wants to win at least one race this year, to extend a record that goes back all the way to his maiden season in 2007. The Circuit of the Americas was probably his best chance of doing that in the final four races, and he came achingly close to pulling it off only to have to cede the victory to Max Verstappen in a vastly superior car. Hamilton had been frustrated to finish qualifying in fifth place and worried about the gap between Mercedes and the Ferraris and the Red Bulls ahead, but he was determined to make the most of the opportunity once penalties for Charles Leclerc and Sergio Perez promoted him and his team mate George Russell to lock out the second row. While Russell tangled with Carlos Sainz at the start, Hamilton got down to business and was determined to stay in touch of race leader Verstappen. The safety cars helped him in that ambition, but by lap 35 it all looked like a done deal. Verstappen's painfully slow pit stop was a dramatic intervention which gave Hamilton hope of snatching that much sought after win, but once Verstappen recovered he was able to blast past the Mercedes down the main straight with disturbing ease. There was simply no competition, and Hamilton knew it and had to accept it. That said, second is no bad achievement!
Max Verstappen (P1, 25 pts): 9.5/10
It was a tough weekend for Red Bull with the passing of team co-owner Dieter Mateschitz, and Max Verstappen felt it more than most having been very close to the energy drink magnate. Given that he had already sealed the drivers championship last time out in Suzuka, you'd have understood if he'd withdrawn from the race altogether in the circumstances. But that's not the Max way: he would race on to win in honour of his mentor and to ensure that the team secured the constructors championship (not that there was really any doubt, but nice to get it out of the way as soon as possible, right?) Having been pipped by Carlos Sainz in FP1 he was quickest in final practice, but when it came to qualifying he couldn't match the two Ferrari drivers. A grid drop for Charles Leclerc ensured he still started on the front row, and the cleaner side of the grid allowed him to swoop past Sainz for the lead into turn 1 even before the Ferrari was spun out by George Russell. That would have been the end of the race if not for an errant wheel gun sabotaging his second pit stop, but even with that setback it wasn't long before Verstappen and the RB18 showed once again they were by a long way best in class this year by powering back to the front with imperious ease. Job done for Max; same time again next week?
