Drivers with a point to prove at Austin

KOVALAINEN'S BIG BREAK

Heikki Kovalainen has spent the 2013 season on the sidelines, keeping his hand in with occasional Friday morning outings for Caterham. His perseverance has now paid of as he has been given the Lotus seat vacated by Kimi Raikkonen.

He's certainly a safe pair of hands. His greater F1 experience relative to rookie reserve driver Davide Valsecchi led to him getting the nod and there's no doubt he will be capable of scoring points. But just because he's a grand prix winner doesn't mean it will be easy.

Friday morning practice will be his first taste of the Lotus E21 and, while he has some experience of the 2013 Pirellis, he will never have faced a qualifying situation on the rubber. His experience stands him in good stead, but it's going to be a big challenge for the Finn.

THE BATTLE FOR SECOND

The reason so much depends on how Kovalainen does is that second place in the constructors' championship is still up for grabs.

With Red Bull an invisible spec in the distance, way up the road (Vettel alone has enough points to be leading the constructors' points), it's tight between Mercedes, Ferrari and Lotus for the lucrative second place.

Currently, Mercedes holds the initiative, 11 points clear of Ferrari and 37 ahead of Lotus. Realistically, Lotus's chances of closing that gap with only 86 points left are slim, especially with the team's enforced driver change, but the team is capable of scoring heavily.

Mercedes has managed to be best of the rest in the previous two grands prix thanks to the efforts of Nico Rosberg, second in India and third in Abu Dhabi, and all the indications are that it is the best-placed to end up behind Red Bull. Potentially, Mercedes could seal the position this weekend, although that is desperately unlikely given how close behind Ferrari is.

PEREZ HAS A POINT TO PROVE

With news that McLaren had decided to drop him for 2014 emerging at the start of the week before the US GP, Perez was forced to announce his departure from the team on the eve of his de facto home race.

It's a real shame for the Mexican, who has struggled to harness his potential this season. With his prospects for landing a 2014 drive uncertain, what he needs now is two strong performances to end the season and remind everyone that there was a reason McLaren signed him in the first place.

Add to the mix the fact that there will be a vast Mexican contingent supporting him from the grandstand and there's every reason to expect the 23-year-old not to let his head drop. With the McLaren still not especially competitive, finishing around the sixth-eighth place bracket would represent a success.

MASSA REVITALISED

The announcement that Felipe Massa will be joining Williams next season did not come as a great surprise. But what is clear is the Brazilian's resolve to make a go of it.

Since he revealed that he would not be racing for Ferrari next season, Massa has been visibly a more relaxed character in the paddock. His performance level has remained a little inconsistent, but there are positive signs and heading to a circuit where he outqualified Fernando Alonso last year, there's every chance he can have a good weekend in Austin.

His form in the final two races of the season will give a pointer to Williams as to what to expect next year.

VETTEL MUST AVOID THE BACKMARKERS

Sebastian Vettel is favourite for the United States Grand Prix. You don't need AUTOSPORT to tell you that. After seven consecutive victories, the 26-year-old is determined to make it nine but, as last year showed, the Austin track can throw up a few surprises.

The German looked a surefire winner here last season and seemed to have the race in the bag despite pressure from Lewis Hamilton, but then Narain Karthikeyan's HRT came into play.

While characterised as simply a careless backmarker getting in the way, it was really all about the track configuration. The spectacular sequence from Turns 3 to 9 simply leaves nowhere for backmarkers to go short of parking up on the runoff.

Vettel stumbled upon Karthikeyan at the wrong time and this was what allowed Hamilton to get close enough to use the DRS to pass him on the back straight that followed a few turns later. This was despite the Indian letting him past during that sequence, at the exit of Turn 7. And it could happen again, as Karthikeyan's comments after the race demonstrate.

"I spoke to Charlie [Whiting] before the race because I knew a situation like this could come up. It's impossible to get out of the way in that part of the track unless we drive off the circuit. Charlie said that it was absolutely fine not to move over from Turns 3 to 7, so I did not do anything wrong."

Needless to say, for lightning to strike Vettel twice, it will need somebody to be as close as Hamilton was to take advantage. In recent races, that has not been the case. Last time out, he won by half-a-minute after taking it easy for much of the second part of the race, meaning that it will make no odds if he loses a few seconds behind the odd Marussia or Caterham. So while there's no reason why traffic won't get in his way, it's going to be tough for anyone to get close enough for it to count.

The United States GP also remains one of the few races Vettel has yet to add to his long list of victories. Admittedly, he has only started two of them - his points-scoring debut in 2007 for BMW Sauber and last year's race - meaning that there can be little doubt he will be fully motivated to go for victory.