2007 UNITED STATES GRAND PRIX
Fernando Alonso MP4-22 06
Lewis Hamilton MP4-22 01
T-car MP4-22 05
Vodafone McLaren Mercedes drivers Lewis Hamilton and Fernando
Alonso claimed the team’s third one-two finish of the
season at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the third consecutive
win for the team. After 73 laps, Fernando finished second
1.5 seconds behind Lewis. Both drivers were on two-stop strategies.
Lewis came in on laps 21 (8.8 seconds) and 51 (7.1 seconds)
whilst Fernando made his stops on laps 22 (7.6 seconds) and
50 (6.5 seconds). In the Drivers' Championship, Lewis extended
his lead to 58 points ahead of Fernando with 48 points. After
four wins in seven out of the season's 17 races, Vodafone
McLaren Mercedes heads the Constructors' table with 106 points
ahead of Ferrari on 71.
LEWIS HAMILTON
"It just keeps getting better and better - what an amazing
week this has been. I can’t believe that I have won
and am so incredibly grateful to the team who have worked
to hard to continue the development which has seen us taking
one-two here today. Everything went right; start, pitstops,
strategy and I’m really happy. I was under pressure
all the way from Fernando and we were both pushing as hard
as possible. I made a good start to maintain the advantage
but Fernando was right there. In the second stint Fernando
managed to get really close when my tyres were graining, and
he had a go at the end of the straight, but I was able to
keep him behind. It’s been a long and hot day, but I
have really enjoyed myself and the support from the fans."
FERNANDO ALONSO
"I didn’t win but I finally managed to leave Indianapolis
with a trophy. I think the race was decided after the first
corner, and I didn’t manage to get past. All I could
do was to stay as close to Lewis as possible. We were side-by-side
on one occasion, but it was all fair and square and it was
good racing. I was constantly in his slipstream and was getting
all kind of dirt from the brakes on my overalls, the car and
the helmet which was why I sometimes went slightly off line
to try and get some clean air. The car was working well, and
I’m looking forward to the rest of the season. At the
end of the day the team can leave Indianapolis having extended
the gap to Ferrari in the Constructors’ battle and having
eight points is better than none. I’m looking forward
to going back to Europe and the rest of the season."
RON DENNIS
"Lewis and Fernando raced from beginning to end. During
the middle stint Fernando pushed hard and caught Lewis and
this of course created some positive but tense moments on
the pitwall. We were obviously happy to let them race but
had to be mindful of the fact that our competition was not
threatening our one-two finish. 15 laps from the end both
drivers reduced their revs to save the engines for the French
Grand Prix but still continued to race. Their sporting behaviour
both on track and especially during the podium celebrations
made the team proud to have two such great drivers. We will
continue to push hard in our development programme which will
allow us to bring more performance to the French Grand Prix
in two weeks time."
NORBERT HAUG
"A thrilling race between Lewis and Fernando. I guess
we need some good nerves this year. Congratulations to both
drivers on a fantastic result. The fourth win of the season
with three one-two victories is a great reward for the hard
work so far from everybody in Woking, Brixworth and Stuttgart.
The important thing is to continue, the competition was clearly
stronger than in the last race. This was certainly a great
race for all the American Formula 1 fans."
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