Max Verstappen broke new records again, but at the same time he got really hot for his team. McLaren’s Lando Norris was holding on to the surprise win for a long time. Valtteri Bottas was out of the points after a weak start.
Red Bull Max Verstappen drove to an unprecedented victory at the Austin GP in Texas. Verstappen started from the sixth grid, but rose to first.
Formula 1 has been contested in Austin since 2012, but no one has won from outside the front row, i.e. the first two grids.
The victory was the fifteenth overall for the Dutchman, who had already secured the championship. Verstappen is closing in on his all-time wins record in a single season, which he set last season, even though there are four races left in the season.
For Verstappen, the victory was the fiftieth of his career. They have only been able to do that Lewis Hamilton (103 wins), Michael Schumacher (91), Sebastian Vettel (53) and Alain Prost (51).
Verstappen can therefore rise to third place in the all-time victory statistics this season.
In Austin, Verstappen fought for victory over McLaren Lando Norris against. The young Brit was looking for the first victory of his career. Norris made a strong start from the second grid and overtook Ferrari Charles Leclerc.
However, Verstappen decided the victory with exceptional tire tactics. At the first pit stop, Verstappen exceptionally changed to medium hard tires, while the rest of the front took less hard tires.
However, Norris was not able to finish the race with one pit stop and hard tires, but had to visit the pit a second time.
Verstappen’s exceptional tactics didn’t hurt, but he was also able to visit the pits for the second time without much impact on the top fight. The Dutchman took the lead halfway through the race and didn’t give up after that.
The Dutchman was also really hot for his team during the race. He constantly complained about the condition of his brakes and, among other things, asked his team for silence on the radio when he was driving through corners. Verstappen was angry with his engineer several times during the race.
– I had problems with the brakes. It was NOT the same feeling as yesterday. It made the competition more difficult. It was really tight until the end, Verstappen described in the track interview.
An interesting moment was seen at the awards ceremony, when Verstappen was booed. Verstappen’s Mexican teammate by Sergio Perez fans also shouted their favorite Checo nickname during the awards ceremony. Perez was fifth in the race.
Norris had to settle for third towards the end of the race, when Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton got past the McLaren driver. Norris defended his position very strongly, but the more experienced Brit was better.
Hamilton’s pace was enough to leave Verstappen by more than two seconds.
The previous race in Qatar ended for the Brit on the opening lap, when he made a judgment error and crashed with teammate George Russell. After his second place, Hamilton returned to the Qatar race.
– I had a really hard time after the last race. First, because of all the events in the world, and then because of my big mistake. I felt like I let my team down really badly. I had to do a really deep thought process when I came back here. It was about how not to fall, but to get back up, Hamilton philosophized.
Lando Norris was satisfied, even though he finished third.
– I just had no tires left at the end. I tried my best. I had to push, but it was getting too hard. A cooler track would have helped, but it wasn’t there. Thanks to the team. It went better than expected, Norris summed up.
Valtteri Bottas started the race from the 13th starting grid and the biggest hope for the points battle. However, Bottas lost two places at the start and was unable to get into the top ten.
– The tactics were quite good. The pace was caught. There wasn’t such a speed with which you could advance in the race. We went more from the back, Bottas described on Viaplay.
– Due to the bouncy of the track, we had to raise the ride height of the car here. That maybe limited us more than other teams.
World Championship points, drivers
WC points, teams