U.S. Grand Prix: Can Lewis Hamilton regain magic in Austin?

Focus on... A rollercoaster 12 months

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Last year's U.S. Grand Prix seems like a lifetime ago -- Lewis Hamilton was on the crest of a wave, a newly-crowned three time world champion, while teammate Nico Rosberg cut a beaten figure having lost a second straight title to his teammate and boyhood friend. After losing the race win and the championship with a late mistake in Austin, having had it thrown in his direction by Hamilton, a visibly frustrated Rosberg threw his cap back at his teammate in a moment which went viral immediately afterwards.

Some pundits said Rosberg was dead and buried, that his hopes of ever beating Hamilton were in ruins.

Reflecting on his emotions, Rosberg wrote in his next BILD column: "I was just p---ed off. At myself, at Lewis, at the whole situation. Everything!

"At the moment it feels as though there is something invisible stopping me from succeeding. An enemy that is so hard to combat. Some call it fate, others bad luck."

Fast-forward 12 months to the next U.S. Grand Prix and that second paragraph could perhaps better describe Hamilton's fortunes as Rosberg stands on the cusp of a maiden world championship. Rosberg is 33 points up, with 100 to play for from the final four rounds of the season. Hamilton, plagued with engine issues and poor starts throughout 2016, is in the rare position of being the underdog -- an image he has actively tried to cultivate for much of the season.

But Rosberg's strong championship position can be traced back further than recent form. After his heartbreaking setback in Austin 12 months ago, Rosberg looked rejuvenated. He won the next three races, though Hamilton, who had a minor late-night car crash ahead of the Brazilian Grand Prix, seemed to have taken his eye off the ball having emulated boyhood idol Ayrton Senna's three titles.

Rosberg started 2016 as he had finished 2015, with four more victories. He faced little challenge from Hamilton in any of them: the world champion had slow getaways in Australia and Bahrain, before qualifying engine drama in China and Russia forced him into recovery drives at both races. Rosberg's drives to victory were not spectacular but they were faultless and they gave him a 43-point buffer over Hamilton, putting the world champion into chase mode for the rest of the season.

Even when Hamilton's mid-season resurgence saw him go into the summer break 19 points up he still admitted it felt like he was chasing Rosberg's big lead at the start of the season, wary of imminent engine penalties from those earlier failures. It was a wise outlook -- a tactical engine switch in Belgium led to a hefty penalty which snapped his momentum. He hasn't won since.

By contrast, Rosberg has looked stronger than ever, with the invisible enemy which he complained of last year now apparently residing in the other half of the Mercedes garage. But in a championship fight which has twisted and turned all season, it would be foolish to declare the German the champion-elect with 100 points still at stake. This weekend's race seems to be the perfect place for Hamilton to regain some form of momentum: he's won three of the four races of COTA and clearly gets a buzz from being in the United States.

If you are thinking the championship is done and dusted, think again. To quote the immortal words of Murray Walker: A lot can happen in Formula One... And it usually does.

In need of a win

Lewis Hamilton has to win each race from here until the end of the season to keep his championship chances alive. That still won't guarantee him the title, as Rosberg can still win it by finishing second at each of the remaining rounds, but will put him in pole position to capitalise on any misfortune for his teammate.

Hamilton has not won since July's German Grand Prix and the momentum is firmly in Rosberg's side of the garage. What better place to get back on form than the U.S. Grand Prix he has won three times in its four years on the calendar?

In need of points

Everyone will be supporting Haas this weekend at its home race. The American team has not scored points since the Austrian Grand Prix and will look to turn around its fortunes in front of a passionate American crowd, something which would do wonders for exposure of the race and the sport in a country yet to fully fall in love with F1.

ESPN prediction

Hamilton is the king of Austin and looked calm in his dealings with the media on Thursday. He brushed off any notion of controversy from the Suzuka weekend. We are backing the world champion to return to the top step of the podium.

Weather

There is no chance of the storms which hit last year's U.S. Grand Prix, with F1 weather service Ubimet predicting no showers through the weekend. Temperature should be around the 25 degrees Celisus-mark for Friday and Saturday, before peaking around 28 degrees for the grand prix on Saturday afternoon.

A lap with... Romain Grosjean

"First you brake on the very wide track uphill into turn one. You then have tricky traction going downhill through sector one. It's very high speed -- very similar to Silverstone. Here you try to carry some good speed. Then you go to the hairpin before the back straight, again you want good traction here. There's very big braking at the end.

"Then there's a very tight section with a double right corner. After that it's a long left hairpin, with tricky braking, then a full right-hand side corner, almost flat out in qualifying. Then it's the two mid-speed final turns, which are pretty interesting, going down into the first one, and the second one going up again before you finish the lap."

Tyres

Tyre choices: Medium, soft, super-soft

Tyre facts: 

• The anti-clockwise track has a unique design, borrowing elements of other famous F1 corners.

• Turn 1 is a tricky left-hand hairpin approached uphill, where it's hard to judge the braking point.

• Turn 11 is another key hairpin, where the cars are braking and turning in at the same time.

•The asphalt is still quite new (from 2012) but has offered more grip recently as it matures.

• Cars tend to run medium downforce in Austin: overtaking is very possible -- particularly in the sequence of corners after Turn 2 -- which opens up a number of strategy options.

• There are three long and fast straights: these cool the tyres, making the braking areas tricky.