2012 UNITED STATES GP

By the time F1 headed to Austin for the first time, Hamilton was already out of the 2012 title fight and Sebastian Vettel was well on his way to his third consecutive crown. But Hamilton is often one of the first drivers to get on top of a new circuit and he duly qualified on the front row, alongside Vettel’s Red Bull.

Mark Webber (Red Bull) initially relegated Hamilton to third, but following one failed attempt the Mclaren moved back into second on lap four of 56 and pulled away.

After both Vettel and Hamilton made their single stops, the Mclaren was only two seconds behind, but with Kimi Raikkonen’s yet-to-stop Lotus splitting them.

Hamilton DRS’D his way past on lap 24, just before Raikkonen came in, by which time Vettel’s lead was 2.4s. Hamilton closed Vettel down, but the Red Bull was quick enough in the crucial places to keep it just out of overtaking range.

That was until lap 42, when Vettel caught the slow HRT of Narain Karthikeyan in the snaking and narrow section from Turns 3 to 7. Now Hamilton was in range and, as they headed down the back straight, he simply blew past on the outside with the help of DRS.

“I knew I had to grab my chance, so I turned the engine up to maximum revs and pushed like crazy,” said Hamilton, who was rewarded for his dogged and relentless pursuit.

“He had one chance to pass, and he took it,” agreed Vettel, who was unable to respond even though he finished just 0.7s behind.