All it took was one opening. Charles Leclerc comfortably won the Formula 1 United States Grand Prix (GP) at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin (Texas) on Sunday, October 20, at the wheel of his Ferrari, after a mischievous start in which he took advantage of the duel head. of him between the “poleman” Lando Norris (McLaren) and the current world champion, Max Verstappen (Red Bull), to sneak into the lead.
Monegasque was imperial throughout the 19th century.my Grand Prix (of twenty-four) of the season, and finished ahead of his Spanish teammate, Carlos Sainz, to offer the Scuderia a second double this year, after the one achieved – with a reversal of the drivers’ classification. − in Australia in March.
Championship leader, Max Verstappen, 3my At the end of the race, he is doing quite well and slightly increases his overall advantage over his pursuer Lando Norris, 4myafter a close and controversial fight at the end of the race.
Leclerc never worried
From the beginning, when the lights went out, Norris and Verstappen had fought, the Dutchman, second on the grid, overtook his rival a little outside the first hairpin, and left the field to Leclerc, part 4.my on the grill, which didn’t ask for that much. Afterwards, the Monegasque never worried. Not even because of the intervention of the safety car on the third lap (of 56), after the British Lewis Hamilton lost control of his Mercedes, forcing him to retire. When the race resumed, Leclerc took off again ahead of Verstappen’s Red Bull, then 2myand Sainz.
“The weekend has not been easy so far, I have had difficulties with the car, but today in the race the sensations have been much better”reacted the winner of the day upon arrival. Like Leclerc, Sainz also proved to be an opportunist by achieving an undercut on Verstappen a third of the way through the GP: the Spaniard stopped to change his tires before the Dutchman and then overtook him when the latter stopped a few laps later.
Norris’ controversial penalty
In front of an audience of stars, including Swedish pole vault star Armand Duplantis and English music legend Sting, Verstappen and Norris put on a show late in the race to take third place. The battle between the two strong drivers of the moment finally turned to the advantage of the British McLaren driver with four laps remaining. The latter, however, received a 5 s penalty upon arrival, for having left the track when overtaking Verstappen, thus obtaining an advantage according to the stewards.
The Dutchman thus recovered his 3my position at the expense of Norris, who finished 4myahead of his teammate Oscar Piastri, 5my. “The battle was tough”acknowledged Verstappen, who did not want to comment on the sanction to his rival for the championship. “I did everything I could to keep [Norris] behind me, but at the end of the day, a podium is a great result.”he also said, the day after his victory in the sprint race.
“The way the stewards interfered in this beautiful motor sport was inappropriate because both cars went off the track, therefore both cars gained an advantage. (…) For us there is no doubt that the maneuver was correct”For his part, McLaren director Andrea Stella reacted, interviewed by the Sky Sports channel. “It’s a shame because it cost us a podium, it cost us a race in which we were patient after they put pressure on us on the first lap, in the first corner”He also said with annoyance, in reference to a similar maneuver by Verstappen on Norris at the start of the race and for which the Dutchman was not sanctioned.
The Red Bull driver now has a 57-point lead over Norris, with 146 points still to go until the final test of the season in Abu Dhabi in early December.
Intense fight for the constructors’ title
Among the French Alpines, Esteban Ocon crossed the finish line in 18my position. His teammate Pierre Gasly, who had a solid chance of scoring points this weekend thanks to his 6my place on the grid, eventually finished 12thmythe blame for a failed pit stop and then a penalty.
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For the final marathon of six tests in eight weeks, most of the teams arrived in Austin with improvements to their cars, as Red Bull, which has been experiencing difficulties since this summer and seeks to close the gap with McLaren, took the lead in the world championship of builders in mid-September.
If the performances of Verstappen, winner of the sprint race on Saturday, seemed to have given first reassuring responses to the reigning champion team, on Sunday the three-time world champion never managed to fight for victory. His partner Sergio Pérez returned to compete in an anonymous race. The Mexican finished 7thmy after leaving 10my. He finished behind Britain’s George Russell (Mercedes), 6my.
With two drivers in the top five, McLaren still had a good Sunday in its fight for the constructors’ title with Red Bull, and maintained a 40-unit lead over the Austrian team. Red Bull can hope to reach next weekend in Mexico, so as not to let McLaren escape definitively and, above all, not to be overtaken by Ferrari, which is only eight points behind the Red Bull team.
