Anyone who thought Formula 1 had lost its sparkle will have had a big change of heart if they watched the US Grand Prix in Austin.
Drama, danger, glamour, and suspense – the race had it all in bucket loads, culminating with a race win for Lewis Hamilton and a third world championship for the British racer.
At one stage it looked like the race might not even happen. As the aftermath of hurricane Patricia hit the Texan city, dumping 8 inches of water in 24 hours, Saturday’s qualifying was called off meaning a weekend’s racing happened in the space of a few hours on the Sunday.
A while back F1 supreme Bernie Ecclestone suggested adding sprinkler systems to race circuits might liven things up a bit. After watching this race, you’d have to agree. There was back-to-back action from the first lap to the last, with four different race leaders, spins and shunts, and no certainty until the chequered flag came down that Hamilton would take the world championship.
In becoming the Formula 1 world champion for the third time the Mercedes driver joins Jackie Stewart as the most successful British driver of all time and his reaction at the end of the race showed how much it meant to him. A donut on the racetrack delighted the spectators and then came the tears as Lewis took in his achievement.
The champagne flowed freely, Elton John performed a concert at the circuit and the partying went on well into the night. If only every race could be as exciting as this one.