formula One
- Verstappen holds off Hamilton and wins his 50th Grand Prix
- Hamilton and Leclerc fail the wear test on the planks after the race
After pulling off a real turnaround to win the US Grand Prix, it was not a little ironic that at this race, in the midst of a victorious season, Max Verstappen was greeted with boos as he climbed onto the podium. It’s a shame because it was undeserved. He won for the 50th time under pressure he hadn’t faced all year.
Verstappen has claimed many of his 15 victories this season, a dominance that undoubtedly influenced the reaction of fans at the Circuit of the Americas who gave him a shove as he received the trophy, but of those 15 victories he had to earn this one.
Starting sixth, he struggled with a brake problem from the first lap and found himself up against a strong Mercedes in the hands of Lewis Hamilton and a resurgent McLaren with Lando Norris at the wheel.
Formula 1: United States Grand Prix: Verstappen wins, Hamilton comes second
In the end, Verstappen was only two seconds ahead of Hamilton, while Norris took third place. With fresher rubber and flying tires, a few more laps and the seven-time champion could finally have ended his thirst for victory after almost two years.
Still, Verstappen deserves praise – the Red Bull had the same pace as it has all season, but he had to deliver precise control over the 56 laps while getting to grips with his braking problem, and in a tense final third when Hamilton pushed him to the limit demanded.
However, after the race, the FIA announced that both Hamilton and Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc had failed their cars’ plank wear test. They have been referred to the stewards and could face disqualification.
Verstappen admitted how difficult it was. “I had a lot of problems with the brakes, which definitely made my race a little more difficult,” he said. “You can see that it was very close in the end, and since the tires are already broken, it makes everything a little more difficult.”
In fact, mid-race, an exasperated Verstappen hurled insults at his car, a massive piece of engineering that has only been beaten once this year, showing how much he was struggling with the anchors.
Both Mercedes and McLaren had thrown everything at the Dutchman, not least by adopting alternative pit strategies to Red Bull, knowing full well that they still couldn’t keep up with Verstappen on speed alone.
Mercedes decided to compensate and kept Hamilton out longer at the first stops. It was a gamble and the team will now have to reflect on whether they waited just one or two laps too long, but at least they were brave and delivered a massive result as Hamilton caught up to Verstappen, only to run out of laps.
Lando Norris leads in the first corner. Photo: Jared C Tilton/Formula 1/Getty Images
Mercedes had brought a big improvement in the ground to Texas and Hamilton was extremely happy with the performance, not least after his crash on the last lap in Qatar.
“With my big mistake, I feel like I let the team down so much,” he said.
“So I had to go through a deep process to get back here and again it was one of those experiences where it’s not how you fall, it’s how you get back up that matters. I fought, felt great and am really happy with this result.”
Mercedes may have been beaten but will still take heart from a strong meeting in Austin as the improvements prove very positive. Hamilton is closer to second place than Red Bull’s Sergio Pérez, who moved from ninth on the grid to fifth. The Mexican led by 30 points at the start of the weekend, but the British rider is now just 19 points behind. If Hamilton can secure second place, it would be a remarkable achievement considering how far Mercedes have been from Red Bull this year.
Norris, who took the lead from the start, drove another perfect race as he and McLaren gave the team an extraordinary turnaround. They had started the season poorly, with Aston Martin delivering a very quick car and Fernando Alonso scoring a number of podiums.
However, two major improvements have proven revolutionary. Before the first upgrade in Austria they were 137 points behind Aston, but have been extremely impressive since then.
They went into this race just six points behind Aston and now have a seven point lead. The team from Woking is on the road to success and, with fourth place in the constructors’ championship, has everything it takes to maintain this position in the remaining four matches.
Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc took fourth and sixth place for Ferrari; George Russell was seventh for Mercedes, Pierre Gasly eighth for Alpine, Lance Stroll ninth for Aston Martin and Yuki Tsunoda tenth for AlphaTauri.
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