A potentially crucial moment for the championship occurred on lap 31 when points leader Nico Rosberg made the pit stop which secured him in second place – the minimum he needs from the remaining races to guarantee the title.
Therefore when Rosberg made his pit stop he was certain to emerge behind Ricciardo. However a Virtual Safety Car period – triggered by Ricciardo’s team mate – changed the arithmetic. Because drivers lap more slowly during a VSC period the time lost making a pit stop is reduced. Instead of coming out five seconds behind Ricciardo, Rosberg ended up two-and-a-half seconds ahead.
He was on fresher tyres too, meaning Ricciardo’s hopes of second place were gone. And crucially it ensured Rosberg took an extra three world championship points.
Sergio Perez enjoyed the fastest complete pit stop of the race thanks to his Force India pit crew. Red Bull did two of the quickest five pit stops of the race, but Max Verstappen’s unplanned arrival on lap 26 was the slowest of the day save for Daniil Kvyat’s, which included a ten-second time penalty.
2016 United States Grand Prix tyre strategies
The tyre strategies for each driver:
| Stint 1 | Stint 2 | Stint 3 | Stint 4 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lewis Hamilton | Soft (11) | Soft (20) | Medium (25) | |
| Nico Rosberg | Soft (10) | Medium (21) | Medium (25) | |
| Daniel Ricciardo | Super soft (8) | Soft (17) | Medium (31) | |
| Sebastian Vettel | Super soft (14) | Soft (15) | Medium (24) | Super soft (3) |
| Fernando Alonso | Soft (11) | Medium (19) | Medium (26) | |
| Carlos Sainz Jnr | Super soft (11) | Soft (19) | Soft (26) | |
| Felipe Massa | Super soft (11) | Soft (18) | Medium (25) | Super soft (1) |
| Sergio Perez | Super soft (10) | Medium (17) | Medium (28) | |
| Jenson Button | Super soft (10) | Medium (18) | Medium (27) | |
| Romain Grosjean | Super soft (10) | Soft (17) | Medium (28) | |
| Kevin Magnussen | Soft (13) | Soft (14) | Medium (16) | Super soft (12) |
| Daniil Kvyat | Soft (21) | Medium (34) | ||
| Jolyon Palmer | Soft (15) | Soft (11) | Medium (29) | |
| Marcus Ericsson | Soft (17) | Medium (38) | ||
| Felipe Nasr | Medium (29) | Soft (26) | ||
| Valtteri Bottas | Super soft (1) | Soft (19) | Medium (35) | |
| Pascal Wehrlein | Soft (13) | Medium (17) | Medium (25) | |
| Esteban Ocon | Medium (17) | Soft (9) | Soft (18) | Super soft (10) |
| Kimi Raikkonen | Super soft (8) | Soft (16) | Super soft (14) | |
| Max Verstappen | Soft (9) | Soft (17) | Medium (2) | |
| Esteban Gutierrez | Soft (13) | Soft (3) | ||
| Nico Hulkenberg | Super soft (1) |
Go ad-free for just £1 per month
>> Find out more and sign up
2016 United States Grand Prix pit stop times
How long each driver’s pit stops took:
| Driver | Team | Pit stop time | Gap | On lap | |
| 1 | Sergio Perez | Force India | 23.350 | 10 | |
| 2 | Felipe Massa | Williams | 23.464 | 0.114 | 54 |
| 3 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | 23.489 | 0.139 | 9 |
| 4 | Nico Rosberg | Mercedes | 23.526 | 0.176 | 10 |
| 5 | Daniel Ricciardo | Red Bull | 23.534 | 0.184 | 25 |
| 6 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 23.575 | 0.225 | 31 |
| 7 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 23.601 | 0.251 | 11 |
| 8 | Jenson Button | McLaren | 23.613 | 0.263 | 10 |
| 9 | Fernando Alonso | McLaren | 23.683 | 0.333 | 11 |
| 10 | Sebastian Vettel | Ferrari | 23.812 | 0.462 | 29 |
| 11 | Kimi Raikkonen | Ferrari | 23.845 | 0.495 | 24 |
| 12 | Kevin Magnussen | Renault | 23.898 | 0.548 | 43 |
| 13 | Felipe Massa | Williams | 23.903 | 0.553 | 29 |
| 14 | Daniel Ricciardo | Red Bull | 23.956 | 0.606 | 8 |
| 15 | Kimi Raikkonen | Ferrari | 23.989 | 0.639 | 8 |
| 16 | Jolyon Palmer | Renault | 24.071 | 0.721 | 15 |
| 17 | Felipe Massa | Williams | 24.093 | 0.743 | 11 |
| 18 | Kevin Magnussen | Renault | 24.103 | 0.753 | 27 |
| 19 | Nico Rosberg | Mercedes | 24.149 | 0.799 | 31 |
| 20 | Sebastian Vettel | Ferrari | 24.156 | 0.806 | 53 |
| 21 | Felipe Nasr | Sauber | 24.244 | 0.894 | 29 |
| 22 | Carlos Sainz Jnr | Toro Rosso | 24.281 | 0.931 | 30 |
| 23 | Kevin Magnussen | Renault | 24.310 | 0.960 | 13 |
| 24 | Sebastian Vettel | Ferrari | 24.433 | 1.083 | 14 |
| 25 | Sergio Perez | Force India | 24.467 | 1.117 | 27 |
| 26 | Esteban Gutierrez | Haas | 24.470 | 1.120 | 13 |
| 27 | Romain Grosjean | Haas | 24.523 | 1.173 | 10 |
| 28 | Esteban Ocon | Manor | 24.665 | 1.315 | 44 |
| 29 | Jolyon Palmer | Renault | 24.766 | 1.416 | 26 |
| 30 | Carlos Sainz Jnr | Toro Rosso | 24.778 | 1.428 | 11 |
| 31 | Pascal Wehrlein | Manor | 25.182 | 1.832 | 30 |
| 32 | Esteban Ocon | Manor | 25.216 | 1.866 | 17 |
| 33 | Valtteri Bottas | Williams | 25.222 | 1.872 | 20 |
| 34 | Marcus Ericsson | Sauber | 25.229 | 1.879 | 17 |
| 35 | Fernando Alonso | McLaren | 25.300 | 1.950 | 30 |
| 36 | Kimi Raikkonen | Ferrari | 25.384 | 2.034 | 38 |
| 37 | Jenson Button | McLaren | 25.635 | 2.285 | 28 |
| 38 | Romain Grosjean | Haas | 26.056 | 2.706 | 27 |
| 39 | Pascal Wehrlein | Manor | 26.059 | 2.709 | 13 |
| 40 | Valtteri Bottas | Williams | 27.098 | 3.748 | 1 |
| 41 | Esteban Ocon | Manor | 27.532 | 4.182 | 26 |
| 42 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | 36.112 | 12.762 | 26 |
| 43 | Daniil Kvyat | Toro Rosso | 37.837 | 14.487 | 21 |
Christopher Rehn (@chrischrill)
24th October 2016, 7:59
38 laps on mediums for Ericsson and 26 on Soft for Nasr. Impressive, but it didn’t look like the right strategy. Ericsson was running P11 with less than 10 laps to go before ending up P14.
Miki
24th October 2016, 9:04
Well it looks like Ferrari was on a mission to make mess of strategies every weekend very intelligently.
only if they can use their intelligence to make a better strategy
Fudge Kobayashi (@)
24th October 2016, 11:14
Anyone know what Ricciardo called Rosberg over the team radio when he learned he had lost the place?
I don’t blame him! This guy’s sheer luck is so irritating this season.
DB-C90 (@dbradock)
25th October 2016, 5:53
I’m sure you can work it out.
Rosberg obviously heard about it to because he asked him what he said in the room before the podium. ( with a smile on his face)
juan fanger (@juan-fanger)
24th October 2016, 21:44
Very unlucky timing of Massa’s 2nd pit stop – just as Verstappen was breaking down. Sainz got the freeby next lap to come out just in front, and Massa went from a well-deserved 5th to a disappointing 7th.
Pantha (@pantha)
28th October 2016, 1:54
If Hamilton had pitted sooner, as Ricciardo did, Rosberg could have emerged from the pits under VSC in the lead.