Two weeks after celebrating his third Formula 1 world title, Max Verstappen arrived in Austin refreshed for the next event on the calendar, where the Dutchman threw his own celebration and left nothing for the rest. If anything, the pole position taken by Charles Leclerc is almost anecdotal, considering that the Monegasque crossed the finish line in sixth, behind his teammate Carlos Sainz (fourth). Fernando Alonso had to retire with five laps to go. It was an unforgettable weekend for Aston Martin, which began with a serious braking problem in both of its cars that put the rest of the race in jeopardy.
Even though Verstappen lost first place on the grid after the stewards canceled his fastest lap for exceeding the track limits in the final qualifying lap, Verstappen has enough car and hands to achieve much more. On Saturday he won the sprint almost without breaking a sweat, and on Sunday he continued to celebrate and took his 15th win of the year, equaling the record he himself set last season. If we consider that there are still four stops left until the end of the World Championship in Abu Dhabi at the end of November, it is normal for the Red Bull driver to set the bar much higher. Let’s see who’s the pretty one beats it. With this victory, the boy born in Hasselt (Belgium) has already collected fifty and there are still a few left.
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It would be a condemnation for any of his rivals to start from sixth place. For Mad Max, it’s a treat, the spice he needs to keep from falling asleep at the wheel. This time, the Red Buffalo brand in Texas changed the usual script, which is to release Verstappen’s shackles so he can win like a beast; to use a less aggressive but equally effective strategy based on slow cooking to avoid damaging the gums. In any case, Red Bull’s Wonder Boy had to sweat more than expected, especially because of the behavior of the brakes, which the driver himself described as “rubbish” and which obviously affected him in the final part of the race. Test in which Lewis Hamilton had a chance of victory two years after the last time (Saudi Arabia, in 2021).
Lewis Hamilton at one point during the race in Austin. CHANDAN KHANNA (AFP)
From Mercedes they put Hamilton in his place, who was gaining more and more ground on his rival and was just a lap away from getting the tyrant into serious trouble. Completing the podium was Lando Norris, who was the leader in the first quarter of the test but could not prevent the wolves coming from behind from eventually swallowing him up.
In an exercise marked by the calm that has settled in the energy team’s workshop, Verstappen’s shouting over the radio that Gianpiero Lambiase, his track engineer, should not speak to him while braking was the truest expression of the stress under which he suffered. Hamilton subdued him. Good news for the fans, who are certainly keen to see this equality maintained in Mexico next week.
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