Nico Rosberg believes he has limited the damage in Texas

Daniel Ricciardo had admitted yesterday after qualifying that he wanted to take advantage of his different choice of tires for the start to try to sow trouble within the clan Mercedes. A bet held for the Australian, who came between Hamilton and Rosberg at the first corner.

The German will have to wait until the second half of the race to be able to get rid of the cumbersome RB12, helped by the entry into action of the virtual safety car following the immobilization at the side of the track. Max Verstappen, gearbox at half mast.

The second place thus obtained allows Rosberg to concede only seven points against his teammate Hamilton, and maintain a 26-unit lead before the next Grand Prix this weekend in Mexico.

“I lost ground at the start, unfortunately, commented the German. I gave everything to come back and try to win the victory. Second place is good in the end, and I'm limiting the damage today... Of course I wanted to win here, but it wasn't my day, so maybe next time. »

Rosberg will emerge as the outgoing winner in Mexico this Sunday, an event where he began his streak of seven consecutive victories until the Russian Grand Prix at the start of the 2016 season.

Find the full report and analysis of the United States Grand Prix, produced by our special correspondents in Austin, in issue 2086 of AUTOhebdo, available this evening in digital version, and this Wednesday on newsstands.