USA F1 Grand Prix 2014 Results: Winner, Standings, Highlights and Reaction

Lewis Hamilton strengthened his stranglehold on the driver's championship after winning a wonderful United States Grand Prix at the Circuit of the Americas in Texas.

The Mercedes man was joined on the podium by teammate Nico Rosberg, who will have to overhaul a 24-point deficit if he's to finish top of the pile come the end of the 2014 season. Daniel Ricciardo put in another excellent display, finishing third in the Red Bull after some thrilling early overtaking.  

Here's the full race results and a look at how the race for the world championship looks after the United States Grand Prix:   

Pos	Driver	Team	Laps	Time/Retired	Grid	Pts
1	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	56	Winner	2	25
2	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	56	+4.3 secs	1	18
3	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull Racing-Renault	56	+25.5 secs	5	15
4	Felipe Massa	Williams-Mercedes	56	+26.9 secs	4	12
5	Valtteri Bottas	Williams-Mercedes	56	+30.9 secs	3	10
6	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	56	+95.2 secs	6	8
7	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing-Renault	56	+95.7 secs	18	6
8	Kevin Magnussen	McLaren-Mercedes	56	+ secs	7	4
9	Jean-Eric Vergne	STR-Renault	56	+ secs	14	2
10	Pastor Maldonado	Lotus-Renault	56	+ secs	10	1
11	Romain Grosjean	Lotus-Renault		+1 Lap	16
12	Jenson Button	McLaren-Mercedes		+1 Lap	12
13	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari		+1 Lap	8
14	Esteban Gutierrez	Sauber-Ferrari		+1 Lap	15
15	Daniil Kvyat	STR-Renault		+1 Lap	17
Ret	Nico Hulkenberg	Force India-Mercedes		+40 Laps	13
Ret	Sergio Perez	Force India-Mercedes		+55 Laps	11
Ret	Adrian Sutil	Sauber-Ferrari		+ secs	9	Ret

Pos	Driver	Nationality	Team	Points
1	Lewis Hamilton	British	Mercedes	316
2	Nico Rosberg	German	Mercedes	292
3	Daniel Ricciardo	Australian	Red Bull Racing-Renault	214
4	Valtteri Bottas	Finnish	Williams-Mercedes	155
5	Sebastian Vettel	German	Red Bull Racing-Renault	149
6	Fernando Alonso	Spanish	Ferrari	149
7	Jenson Button	British	McLaren-Mercedes	94
8	Felipe Massa	Brazilian	Williams-Mercedes	83
9	Nico Hulkenberg	German	Force India-Mercedes	76
10	Kevin Magnussen	Danish	McLaren-Mercedes	53
11	Sergio Perez	Mexican	Force India-Mercedes	47
12	Kimi Räikkönen	Finnish	Ferrari	47
13	Jean-Eric Vergne	French	STR-Renault	23
14	Romain Grosjean	French	Lotus-Renault	8
15	Daniil Kvyat	Russian	STR-Renault	8
16	Jules Bianchi	French	Marussia-Ferrari	2
17	Pastor Maldonado	Venezuelan	Lotus-Renault	1
18	Adrian Sutil	German	Sauber-Ferrari	0
19	Marcus Ericsson	Swedish	Caterham-Renault	0
20	Esteban Gutierrez	Mexican	Sauber-Ferrari	0
21	Max Chilton	British	Marussia-Ferrari	0
22	Kamui Kobayashi	Japanese	Caterham-Renault	0
23	Andre Lotterer	German	Caterham-Renault	0

Rosberg was in sensational form during the qualifying session, edging out Hamilton for pole position by almost half a second. And ahead of the race he admitted he was delighted with his showing in tough conditions, per William Esler of Sky Sports:

"

It's been a great day, I'm very happy. With my engineers, I arrived at a car which I was really happy with.

The wind was changing so that made it very challenging, it wasn't easy to get everything right. But it's the race which counts and I need to fully focus on tomorrow.

"

Mark Thompson/Getty Images

Rosberg began the race like a man keen on keeping his world championship hopes alive. The German got off the line well, leaving his teammate with no chance of overhauling him into the opening corner. But just as the race got going, the safety car was out after a smash between Adrian Sutil and Sergio Perez.

Here's the incident, courtesy of F1 Racing NBC:

With debris scattered across the track, it was the cue for the drivers to come in for pit stops and for Sebastian Vettel—who started the race in the pit lane—an opportunity to get back into the mix. The German pitted twice under the safety car to use up both requisite tyre compounds, adding another fascinating tactical dimension to an already intriguing race.

Vettel’s teammate Ricciardo endured a difficult start to the day, but he pulled out a pair of stunning moves—first on Kevin Magnussen and then on Fernando Alonso—to haul himself back into contention. Sniff Petrol paid tribute to the Australian’s efforts:

At the front Rosberg and Hamilton were battling away, with the Brit dipping in and out of the DRS zone. Over the course of the weekend, Rosberg has been faster in the second half of the lap, while Hamilton had been quicker in the opening stages. This dynamic continued, with neither driver able to make any real tangible gains.

Things took a turn for the worse for Rosberg though, per Sky Sports F1:

Hamilton also began to struggle, with the tyres clearly beginning to degrade for those drivers who decided not to pit under the safety car. The Mercedes duo both boxed, and after getting some fresh wheels on the car, Rosberg sought to build a lead at the front of the race. 

Clive Mason/Getty Images

Meanwhile, Ricciardo was continuing to entertain. He undercut Valtteri Bottas during their first round of pit stops and moved into third place with another daring overtake. After a poor start, the Aussie was well in the mix for a podium place.

Rosberg was unable to pull away at the front of the field, and as Hamilton began to find his rhythm, the Brit seemed insatiable in his efforts to get to the front. On Lap 24, the Brit out-braked his teammate and took the lead of the race, per Sky Sports F1:

The German wasn't giving up on this one without a fight though, as noted by F1 Racing NBC:

Mercedes have been dominant throughout the course of this campaign, but around the Texas circuit there were a few teams pushing them close. Indeed, as Ricciardo ousted Felipe Massa to take third place via another undercut, the Mercedes engineering team brought their drivers in to cover the impressive efforts of both Williams and Red Bull.

Hamilton was looking unflustered at the front, however, and just as he has done in the last few weeks, there was a serenity and confidence in his driving. Fake Charlie Whiting thought the Mercedes man was driving like a world champion elect:

"

I’m impressed. @LewisHamilton is driving like the 2014 #F1 World Champion today.

— Fake Charlie Whiting (@charlie_whiting) November 2, 2014"

Rosberg was unable to threaten Hamilton sufficiently in the later stages and the Brit waltzed home to take his fifth race win in succession, his third in four outings in the United States. The battle for third position was a lot more enticing, as Massa chased down a toiling Ricciardo, but the Aussie did enough to hold on and take a well-deserved third place.

As the laps ticked down we were treated to some phenomenal wheel-to-wheel action involving Vettel, Jenson Button and Jean-Eric Vergne further back in the field. The Red Bull man will have been delighted to have nudged his way into a points scoring position, a magnificent effort when you consider where he began the race.

For Hamilton, triumphing here was vital. With two rounds remaining the Brit now has an excellent chance of winning the title. This victory also keeps his stunning momentum intact.

After starting in pole position, Rosberg will be hugely disappointed to have let this one slip and must regroup ahead of the two races to go; a win next time out would do plenty to enhance his championship chances.

Next up it’s the Brazilian Grand Prix, and with the double points round to come in the Abu Dhabi finale, more twists and turns are surely inevitable in this engrossing season.