USGP - Championships and Controversy

On a weekend when Ferrari and Seb Vettel were under a huge amount of pressure, the start went like a dream. Vettel got the jump on Lewis Hamilton in turn 1 to go straight into the lead. He wasn't able to pull a gap though and the Mercedes was able to haul in the Ferrari and pass on lap 6.
From there, it was in Hamilton's control and, apart from a brief moment of discomfort after the pit-stop when Vettel was suddenly back within a couple of seconds, there was never any real threat.

There were thrilling battles in the mid-field between the Force India and Renault who were down to their debutant Carlos Sainz after Nico Hulkenberg's car packed up.
From the back of the field after grid penalties, Max Verstappen did exactly as expected by rapidly dispatching the lower-tier teams to get himself into the tussle at the front of the pack.
While Kimi Raikkonen fought with his fellow Finn Valtteri Bottas, Verstappen quietly snuck up on both of them. Bottas got passed by the Ferrari and it wasn't long before he was pushed down into P5 by the rampaging Red Bull.
The question has to be asked if he's good enough to be driving the Mercedes? It certainly blows out of the water all that rubbish about "It's the car, not Lewis".
Bottas isn't even playing the role of a #2 driver because he isn't helping shield Lewis at all from the threat of the competition. He certainly isn't doing much for the team. After all that bluster about him being a future world champion, here he is in a top car being comprehensively spanked by rivals, not just his teammate.

The final lap brought controversy as Verstappen got his Red Bull into P3 and relegated Kimi into P4 with just a few turns left before the end of the race. It looked like it was an absolute fairytale finish for Verstappen, but a few minutes later, as the drivers were in the cool-down room, race stewards ruled that Verstappen had exceeded track limits and gained an advantage so he was given a 5-second penalty... Putting Kimi back into P3 and on the podium!

So Lewis Hamilton's victory here sealed the constructor's championship for Mercedes and brought him closer to his 4th title. In all likelihood, he will seal the 2017 championship in Mexico next week. Vettel's post-race interview mood suggested that he has conceded the title race is pretty much over.

Through all this, Alonso's brilliant P7 start ended with a retirement due to engine failure. Ricciardo's engine also packed up not long after he had made a pit-stop for fresh tyres and was setting up to pressure for a podium. Wehrlein in the Sauber recorded a DNF. As did Nico Hulkenberg in the Renault. Carlos Sainz was brilliant to take P7 in his first showing for the team. Who is that Palmer guy anyway?