Formula One shot itself in the foot, once again, before the weekend even got underway. The first big news was that the underdogs, albeit very popular teams, Marussia and Caterham would not be taking part in Texas. Very simply put, the inequality in Formula One has pushed two of the teams out of the Championship, leaving only eighteen cars on the grid. Also, it's difficult to take a sport seriously, that, through regulations and imposed penalties, allows its reigning World Champion to be forced to start the race from the pit lane, before the qualifying session has even got underway. The mind boggles!The biggest news of the session, in my opinion, was Sutil's fantastic performance for the struggling Sauber team. The team have had an absolutely dire season, but this was a small piece of success, which was received with clear enthusiasm and elation. It was only tenth place, but the achievement of actually making it in to the top ten shootout will be a great boost for the team.
The rest of the session was just as tedious as most of the other qualifying sessions. Pole and second place were taken by the usual suspects, although interestingly Nico Rosberg is taking the fight to Lewis Hamilton, by bagging the top spot. The promising thing about the race is that the gloves are off again, at Mercedes. The team have taken the Constructor's Championship, so all that is left is for Lewis and Nico to smash in to each other, block each other and hinder each other. I really don't know who I want to win the Driver's Championship. Hamilton is a Brit, is fair and honest, but he regularly comes across as quite soft and a moaner, which is irritating. Rosberg, on the other hand, is cerebral and smart, with an infectious personality, but he is undoubtedly a cheat. It's a difficult choice, but maybe after this weekend I can make a decision.
The Grid:
| Pos | No | Driver | Team | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 | Nico Rosberg | Mercedes | 1:38.303 | 1:36.290 | 1:36.067 | 20 |
| 2 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1:37.196 | 1:37.287 | 1:36.443 | 16 |
| 3 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | Williams-Mercedes | 1:38.249 | 1:37.499 | 1:36.906 | 19 |
| 4 | 19 | Felipe Massa | Williams-Mercedes | 1:37.877 | 1:37.347 | 1:37.205 | 20 |
| 5 | 3 | Daniel Ricciardo | Red Bull Racing-Renault | 1:38.814 | 1:37.873 | 1:37.244 | 17 |
| 6 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | Ferrari | 1:38.349 | 1:38.010 | 1:37.610 | 16 |
| 7 | 22 | Jenson Button | McLaren-Mercedes | 1:38.574 | 1:38.024 | 1:37.655 | 17 |
| 8 | 20 | Kevin Magnussen | McLaren-Mercedes | 1:38.557 | 1:38.047 | 1:37.706 | 16 |
| 9 | 7 | Kimi Räikkönen | Ferrari | 1:38.669 | 1:38.263 | 1:37.804 | 22 |
| 10 | 99 | Adrian Sutil | Sauber-Ferrari | 1:38.855 | 1:38.378 | 1:38.810 | 15 |
| 11 | 13 | Pastor Maldonado | Lotus-Renault | 1:38.608 | 1:38.467 | 16 | |
| 12 | 11 | Sergio Perez | Force India-Mercedes | 1:39.200 | 1:38.554 | 16 | |
| 13 | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | Force India-Mercedes | 1:38.931 | 1:38.598 | 16 | |
| 14 | 26 | Daniil Kvyat | STR-Renault | 1:38.936 | 1:38.699 | 17 | |
| 15 | 25 | Jean-Eric Vergne | STR-Renault | 1:39.250 | 10 | ||
| 16 | 21 | Esteban Gutierrez | Sauber-Ferrari | 1:39.555 | 10 | ||
| 17 | 1 | Sebastian Vettel | Red Bull Racing-Renault | 1:39.621 | 3 | ||
| 18 | 8 | Romain Grosjean | Lotus-Renault | 1:39.679 | 8 |
