US Grand Prix 2015: Weird Weekend Gets The Race It Deserved

When people look back at the 2015 American Grand Prix there's one thing they'll remember, rain. Strange of course, considering that the majority of the race took place on slick tyres without the threat of a downpour.

Without the freak weather, this weekend was always destined to go down in history. With the eyes of the world upon him, and with luck very much on his side, Lewis Hamilton claimed a truly deserved World Championship. The Brit is now his nation's first back-to-back champion, and joins legends of the sport Jackie Stewart, Niki Lauda, Nelson Piquet, Jack Brabham and Ayrton Senna in having taken home three championships. Household names the lot of them, but it remains to be seen whether Hamilton will have the same lasting impact on the sport.

Three time World Champion Lewis Hamilton celebrates in Austin

The US Grand Prix was in fact a perfect reflection of the season as a whole. Starting from pole position Nico Rosberg reached the first corner ahead of Hamilton, but it was the sheer determination and ruthlessness of the champion-in-waiting that saw him leading the race come turn two. Even when Rosberg did find himself leading just a few laps from home, the impending pressure of Hamilton in his rear view mirror was enough to force the German into a mistake.

Will Rosberg ever win a Championship? Probably, but he might have to leave Mercedes and the shadow of Hamilton to do so.

Weekends like this are ones that really set apart the men from the boys, unless your Max Verstappen that is... The eighteen year old showed enough over the course of the Grand Prix to convince even the most skeptical of F1 fans that he'll be fighting for the title in a few years time. Dealing with challenging conditions like an experienced racer, Verstappen has proved more skilled than large swathes of the current crop of drivers. Teammate Sainz impressed too, and for Red Bull the future (in terms of potential drivers at least) is looking bright.

Speaking of the parent team, both Ricciardo and Kyvatt showed glimpses of hope for Christian Horner and friends. For a few laps at least the Australian even looked in control of the race, until a drying track and mistimed overtake got in the way.

On a weekend when a championship was decided, former title winner Alonso was again robbed of a strong points haul. Countless times this season the Honda power unit has let down the McLaren boys. The Woking based outfit can at least take some solace in teammate Button's sixth place finish.

Alexander Rossi in action

In other news Maldonado finally managed to complete an entire race without incident, and on home turf Alexander Rossi matched Manor's best result of the season with an uneventful 12th.

Next time out F1 returns to Mexico City and a historic circuit with a history of great racing. One thing's for sure, it'll have to go a long way to beat the drama of Austin.