Austin, USA: As the lights went out, it was Lando Norris who made a brilliant start, taking the lead from polesitter Charles Leclerc. The McLaren driver, starting from the front row, displayed his finesse as he powered his way into the lead.
Meanwhile, Carlos Sainz of Ferrari managed to get past Lewis Hamilton to secure third place, and Max Verstappen successfully overtook George Russell of Mercedes to seize fifth position. Russell, who initially looked promising, dropped back to seventh, just ahead of Sergio Perez, who steadily climbed to eighth during the opening laps.
Verstappen’s determination was evident early in the race. He quickly made his way past Sainz and, by lap 5, executed a bold move on the Ferrari driver to claim fourth place as they approached Turn 12. Leclerc, who had been struggling with his pace, couldn’t hold off the charging Hamilton for long. As Hamilton got ahead of Leclerc, Verstappen capitalized on the opportunity to close in on the Ferrari driver.
When Leclerc slipped out of DRS range of Hamilton, Verstappen seized the moment. He executed a daring overtake on the inside of Turn 12, with Leclerc putting up a strong defense. The Dutchman managed to hold off the Ferrari driver through Turn 13, securing third place.
The team demonstrated their strategic prowess during the first round of pit stops, as Verstappen executed a textbook undercut on Hamilton by pitting at the end of lap 16. On the following tour, Hamilton came in to the pits for a fresh set of tyres which allowed the Dutchman to sweep past and claim second place.
Meanwhile, Perez made a pit stop at the end of lap 16 like his teammate, taking a set of Medium tyres, and cleverly managed to surpass Russell after his pit stop, securing fifth place. Leclerc made his sole pit stop at the end of lap 23, dropping to fifth.
On lap 36, Verstappen came in for his second stop of the race to follow suit of race leader Lando Norris. As Max emerged from the pits, he came out ahead of Norris.
Verstappen’s dominance continued as he powered past a slowing Leclerc into Turn 1, reclaiming the lead. With a comfortable lead secured, Verstappen began to extend his advantage.
As the race neared its conclusion, Verstappen held a three-second lead over Norris, with Hamilton trailing two seconds behind the McLaren driver. Hamilton made a decisive move to overtake Norris at the start of lap 59, securing second place.
Leclerc, under pressure, was instructed to let his faster teammate Sainz pass on lap 51. Perez, who had climbed through the ranks, zoomed past Leclerc on lap 53 to secure fifth place.
With three laps remaining, the order appeared to stabilize. Verstappen crossed the finish line a mere 2.2 seconds ahead of Hamilton, claiming victory. Norris secured a hard-fought third place, Sainz held on to fourth, and Perez, who made a remarkable comeback, took fifth place.
Behind Perez, Leclerc finished sixth, followed by Russell in seventh, Pierre Gasly in eighth, and Lance Stroll in ninth. Yuki Tsunoda rounded off the top ten, securing the final point.
The United States Grand Prix provided fans with a remarkable showcase of talent and strategic racing. Max Verstappen’s triumph proved his skill, determination, and tactical prowess once again in an unforgettable race.
Having already claimed the World Championship, Max Verstappen reflected on securing yet another milestone, “It feels incredible to win my 50th Grand Prix here in Austin, I’m very proud of course but I want to keep pushing for more.
“Starting in P6 today was interesting, I worked my way slowly through to the front. We didn’t have a massive pace advantage today and I was struggling with my brakes.
“You could see it was very close at the end and there too. We had to rely on the strategy today and the Team did a great job with that.”
Finishing in 5th-place at the chequered flag, Sergio Pérez said, “I wanted more for today, obviously. At times we had really good pace, but we are still lacking that consistency. I think we know what we did wrong across the weekend, so we are really optimistic going into future races.
“We need to make sure we learn from this weekend as there are some good understandings to make for Mexico. There is a bit more pace in there and I am massively looking forward to my home Grand Prix.”
Following the race, Christian Horner was in agreement that the race was won through strategic decision making, “Before the race all our simulations were telling us that the two stop was the fastest race for us and that’s what we committed to. We knew going up against Lando that they committed to the two hards so we felt going medium, medium was the best strategy.
“It was crucial for Max to make use of that, get the pass, take the track position and then run our fastest race to the end of the race. Max was dealing with a brake issue throughout the race, as I’m sure you could hear. It was tough for him and I think his focus was largely on that, although he was able to overcome any issues and bring home the victory. His half century. Another phenomenal achievement for Max.
“Checo also drove well. He’s had some tough races but he had good pace today and I think he’ll take a lot of confidence from that. Hopefully that will put him in a good space before his home race next weekend. As all eyes turn to Mexico, we look forward to seeing what’s to come and what we can achieve.