Austin, U.S.A. – After a three-week hiatus, Formula 1 returned to the track this past weekend in Austin for the 2024 US Grand Prix. Max had won the previous three races at the Circuit of the Americas and it was also where Oracle Red Bull Racing claimed the Constructors’ Championship in 2022.
Verstappen claimed victory again in Saturday’s Sprint Race, however, he had to settle for starting 2nd on the grid, behind his Championship rival Lando Norris. A lap around COTA consists of 20 turns, 11 left handers and 9 right, totalling a length of 5.513km, with the longest straight being 1,090m. During a lap the drivers are expected to make around 66 gear changes and will be at full throttle for 64% of the lap.
Norris got away well, but on the run up to Turn 1 he left the door slightly ajar and Max instinctively dived to the inside to try to pass the McLaren. The champion had to brake late, and when he and Norris went wide on exit, Leclerc powered through to claim the lead.
With Ferrari looking strong all weekend, the Monegasque driver held the lead and though Max was able to hang on to second, it soon became clear that matching the Ferrari driver’s pace would not be possible.
Checo also got a good start and when Alonso slipped back, the Mexican climbed to ninth. Back at the rear of the field, Lewis Hamilton lost control on lap 3 and beached his car in the gravel. This released the safety car. Action was back underway by lap 6 with Leclerc controlling the restart.
The pole sitter managed to hold off the World Champion with the other Ferrari of Carlos Sainz holding onto 3rd place. The Spaniard was the first of the frontrunners to make a pit stop on lap 22. He emerged in fifth ahead of Checo, who had moved up the order thanks to stops from Gasly and Magnussen.
Max came in on lap 26, which allowed Sainz to work the undercut as he swept past to take 2nd place. Leclerc then made his switch to Hard tyres on lap 27 and when he rejoined in third, Norris led ahead of Piastri as both McLarens were yet to pit.
Checo made his stop on lap 27 putting him 11th, which soon became 9th as he passed Magnussen and Hülkenberg. The two McLarens then pitted which boosted the two Ferraris into first and second position.
Max was struggling on his tyres which meant he wasn’t able to close the gap up to the Ferraris ahead. Behind him Norris was gaining and cutting the time to three seconds by lap 35. Checo, meanwhile, had made more progress. On lap 37 he passed the Williams’ of Franco Colapinto to claim 7th and then 6th when Mercedes’ George Russell came into the pits.
With 15 laps to go, Max was coming under increasing pressure from Norris. On lap 44, the McLaren driver got within a second of the champion, but Max managed to come out on top and held onto 3rd place at the flag to extend his lead to 57 points over Norris.
Checo tried to resist late pressure from Russell. However, the Briton on fresher tyres managed to snatch 6th meaning the Mexican had to settle for 7th.
Max Verstappen, taking his 12th podium of the season, said “The battle with Lando at the end was cool as we were racing hard and it was actually a lot of fun.”
Sergio Pérez, securing valuable points for the Team, said “We lacked pace the whole weekend; it has not been a straightforward weekend and we have plenty of work to do. I am looking forward to next week but we need to make sure we learn from Austin to make sure Mexico is more successful.”
Oracle Red Bull Racing will be in action next week at the Mexican Grand Prix on the 27th of October.