Max Verstappen dominated the US Grand Prix in Austin and had his foot firmly on the neck of the Circuit of the Americas all weekend long finishing ahead of Lando Norris and Charles Leclerc.
After winning the Sprint on Saturday, Verstappen took pole position and then the win on Sunday ahead of McLaren’s LAndo Norris and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc. IT is Max’s 127th podium finish and a strong message to McLaren as Max wins and his teammate, Yuki Tsunoda, was in P7.
Win
WinA big win for Red Bull with both cars in the points and Max on the top step of the podium. Red Bull have found pace and while we wondered if their Monza performance was a one-off or a permanent improvement, we’ve found the answer. Sheer pace may be there or thereabouts with McLaren over the USGP race and one wonders what might have been the result had Lando not lost his position to Leclerc but nonetheless, Max looks like he is very much in the driver’s championship hunt.
A win for Lando Norris who out-scored Oscar Piastri and closed the gap in the driver’s title. While he didn’t win in Austin, he did improve his position in the championship. It does make you wonder if McLaren might have thought of starting Lando on the softs? It also makes you wonder if the threat of Max and others, if the team may have to reconsider their Papaya Rules thingy again?
A win for Ferrari with Charles Leclerc in P3 and Lewis Hamilton in P4. They move to just four points behind Mercedes in the constructor’s title. A big improvement for Ferrari and they’ve done well in Mexico and Las Vegas so you never know what might happen.
A win for Nico Hulkenberg who ran well all weekend long and finished in P8 as well as Ollie Bearman who took his Haas F1 car to P9. Both looked good over the weekend and delivered on Sunday.
Fail
FailA fail for McLaren and Oscar Piastri who struggled all weekend long and couldn’t get Oscar on the podium. Oscar lost points to Lando and couldn’t find the pace all weekend long. It’s hard to not wonder why Oscar seems to be off the boil but he needs to turn things around in Mexico.
A fail for Carlos Sainz who crashed out with an ill-advised passing attempt on Antonelli. I’ve given Leclerc a hard time for unforced errors but if I’m being honest, Carlos seems to have his share of those too.
A tough weekend for Alpine as well but you have to like Franco Colapinto ignoring team orders to pass teammate Pierre Gasly.
WTH
WTHWhoa! Circuit of the Americas just renewed their deal with F1 to host the race through 2034 so that’s great news for COTA and Austin.
I’m not sure what was up with Isack Hadjar who seemed to really struggle all weekend and sounded a bit petulant on the radio over the three days.
MARIO ISOLA – PIRELLI DIRECTOR OF MOTORSPORT“Today the teams decided to keep their options open at the start, using mainly the medium tyre on the grid, which is the most flexible starting point for a number of different strategies. Leclerc stood out among the top 10, being the only driver to opt for the soft, which gave him an initial grip advantage that paid off. The early VSC period allowed a few extra laps on both the soft and the medium, with the medium compound in particular showing consistency that was perhaps greater than anticipated. A positive influence on that was the asphalt temperature, which was lower than yesterday, and track evolution. These combined factors allowed the first stint to be stretched for as long as possible. As a result, the medium-hard strategies that were initially envisaged inevitably turned into a theoretically more audacious strategy once the halfway point of the race had been reached. A succession of pit stops round about lap 30 saw the red tyre used for the final stint on nearly all the cars. With the rear tyres not reaching maximum wear, the drivers were able to maintain a competitive pace without having to manage them, also thanks to the setups selected by the teams. Congratulations to Max Verstappen, who continues to fight for the title, and to Charles Leclerc for choosing a different strategy to get onto the podium.” |
US GP Results:
| Pos. | No. | Driver | Team | Laps | Time / Retired | Pts. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull Racing | 56 | 1:34:00.161 | 25 |
| 2 | 4 | Lando Norris | McLaren | 56 | +7.959s | 18 |
| 3 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 56 | +15.373s | 15 |
| 4 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Ferrari | 56 | +28.536s | 12 |
| 5 | 81 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren | 56 | +29.678s | 10 |
| 6 | 63 | George Russell | Mercedes | 56 | +33.456s | 8 |
| 7 | 22 | Yuki Tsunoda | Red Bull Racing | 56 | +52.714s | 6 |
| 8 | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | Kick Sauber | 56 | +57.249s | 4 |
| 9 | 87 | Oliver Bearman | Haas F1 Team | 56 | +64.722s | 2 |
| 10 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin | 56 | +70.001s | 1 |
| 11 | 30 | Liam Lawson | Racing Bulls | 56 | +73.209s | 0 |
| 12 | 18 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin | 56 | +74.778s | 0 |
| 13 | 12 | Kimi Antonelli | Mercedes | 56 | +75.746s | 0 |
| 14 | 23 | Alexander Albon | Williams | 56 | +80.000s | 0 |
| 15 | 31 | Esteban Ocon | Haas F1 Team | 56 | +83.043s | 0 |
| 16 | 6 | Isack Hadjar | Racing Bulls | 56 | +92.807s | 0 |
| 17 | 43 | Franco Colapinto | Alpine | 55 | +1 lap | 0 |
| 18 | 5 | Gabriel Bortoleto | Kick Sauber | 55 | +1 lap | 0 |
| 19 | 10 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine | 55 | +1 lap | 0 |
| NC | 55 | Carlos Sainz | Williams | 5 | DNF | 0 |
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My 2c on the race: Isack seems to have a temper on him when things don’t go well, which is the same issue that Yuki had, I wonder if this will make Marko and co think twice about moving him up. Clearly the RBR have found pace by figured out and implemented what ‘trick’ the McLarens are using, as they have gone very quiet on that front. Oscar needs to stay in front of Lando on the points, otherwise the minute he is behind, McLaren will put team orders in for Oscar to support Lando for the WDC. I know… Read more »
I’m curious about how they feel about Isack’s attitude too.
Maybe isaack is trying to stay out of the red bull career death seat. I wasnt able to watch this race due to travel but since the highlight video had almost nothing in it i assume it was like the last several. Maybe it’s the parity at the end of the formula but what a snooze, i can see why people like carlos have to do something reckless in the search for an opportunity.
For Verstappen fans, big whooping joy. For all other F1 fans… ZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz except for 22 seconds (yes, I timed them) of actual racing events and one goof from Sainz, they finished pretty much as they started. Excitement? Want proof? More time spent watching drivers in 13th place than Verstappen. If you discount the close-in excitement of tire changing (which is F1’s only go-to dramatic video), there was nothing of any interest. Look, you cannot assume Crofty’s effervescent enthusiasm for drivers’ need to get points to either carry the audience’s attention nor make what is a ultra wide, HUGE run off… Read more »
Agreed, and not taking Sainz side exactly, but he was way in there for awhile before Antonelli turned in. Ant needs to be more aware and understand how to run wide and protest and finish the race. He’s been thrown in the deep end but he either needs to be cautious or fast at least one of them if he can’t be both yet.