Sport
Lewis Hamilton wins U.S. Grand Prix
Added Vettel: “He had one chance and took it. There wasn’t much between us. I tried to defend … but I knew that he would have so much more speed that he would get by either side, so it didn’t really matter what I was doing.”
Alonso had to work hard to stay in the hunt for the drivers’ championship.
The Spaniard was set to start in eighth position but got a boost to seventh when Ferrari broke the gearbox seal of Alonso’s teammate, Felipe Massa, incurring a five-spot penalty that allowed Alonso to move up.
Lotus driver Kimi Raikkonen, who won in Abu Dhabi two weeks ago, finished sixth. Michael Schumacher of Mercedes, a former seven-time world champion who is set to retire again after Brazil, could not capitalize on starting from the No. 5 spot and slipped to 16th.
The 25-year-old Vettel is already the youngest repeat champion in Formula One history. He could join Schumacher and Juan Manuel Fangio as the only drivers to win three in a row. Alonso, 31, won consecutive titles in 2005 and ’06.
“We try to look at Brazil with a possibility to fight for a world championship,” Alonso said. “It’s something that we fight all through the year and try to fight for position. Only Sebastian is in a better position than us, but we should be proud.”
Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press
