How many of your pre-race predictions for the 2021 United States Grand Prix were correct? Find out below!
1. WHERE WILL VETTEL FINISH?
YOUR PREDICTION: 11th, 12th or 13th
CORRECT ANSWER: 8th, 9th or 10th
Sebastian Vettel did better than the majority of voters on this poll expected him to. After taking penalties for additional power unit components, Vettel started the race from eighteenth on the grid. He made up eight places over the course of the afternoon to finish tenth and pick up a point.
2. WILL HAMILTON TAKE POLE?
YOUR PREDICTION: YES
CORRECT ANSWER: NO
Lewis Hamilton is the undisputed King of COTA, with three poles and five wins at the circuit. It’s no surprise that 64% of you backed him to take pole. But Max Verstappen was the man to beat at the 2021 United States Grand Prix. He took pole with Red Bull by just over two tenths of a second.
3. HOW MANY DRIVERS WILL TAKE GRID PENALTIES?
YOUR PREDICTION: 2
CORRECT ANSWER: 4 or more
Almost a quarter of the grid took a grid penalty at the United States Grand Prix. In addition to Vettel’s penalty, Valtteri Bottas took a five place drop due to yet another internal combustion engine being added to his car, while Fernando Alonso and George Russell both dropped to the back due to power unit related penalties.
4. WHICH GRID POSITION WILL WIN?
YOUR PREDICTION: THE FRONT ROW
CORRECT ANSWER: 1st
It was a tie on this poll, with both first and second on the grid picking up 41.7% of the vote. Every previous race at Circuit of The Americas has been won from pole – and the 2021 race was no exception. While Lewis Hamilton took the early lead from second on the grid, it was polesitter Max Verstappen who went on to win.
5. WHO WILL SCORE MORE POINTS – FERRARI OR MCLAREN?
YOUR PREDICTION: McLAREN
CORRECT ANSWER: FERRARI
For the first time since the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, both Ferrari drivers started inside the top five on the grid. Charles Leclerc went on to finish fourth, while Carlos Sainz came home in seventh place. With the McLarens finishing fifth and eighth, the British team’s advantage over Ferrari in the Constructors’ Championship comes down to only 3.5 points.
Let us know how you got on with this race’s predictions! There’ll be more predictions to be made ahead of the next Grand Prix. Follow Lights Out on twitter to take part: @LightsOutF1Blog!
