Ferrari fixed the F1 pot in Austin, Texas late Sunday in the Formula One race. Valtteri Bottas was 17th.
The Ferrari team took a handsome double victory in the 19th United States GP of the Formula One season, when those who started the race from the third and fourth grid Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz Jr. spent their money in the competition.
The Italian team narrowed the gap to Red Bull in second place in the teams’ World Championship points to just eight, while it was still 30 points before Sunday. McLaren leads the manufacturers’ championship by 40 points ahead of Red Bull.
The duo fighting for the World Series victory Red Bull Max Verstappen and McLaren Lando Norris there was a tight battle at the end of the starting straight, where Verstappen, the leader in World Championship points, forced Norris, who started from the pole, off the track after passing at the end of the starting straight.
– He forced me off the track and didn’t stay on the track himself. He didn’t want to stay on the track, Norris snapped on the team radio.
Verstappen, who finished third in the race, was not penalized for his trick. He had to pass Norris with only three laps to go, but the jury saw a fault in the passing situation, which resulted in a five-second penalty.
Norris finished third, but a time penalty dropped him to fourth, less than a second behind the Dutchman. Because of the dramatic end, Norris’ difference was not 51 points before the last five races of the season, but it increased to 57 points.
McLaren’s Oscar Piastri was fifth in the race.
Difficult at the Mercedes team
It was a dark weekend for the Mercedes team, which is fourth in the Manufacturers’ World Championship points. George Russell had to start the race from the pit straight because he had to rely on the version of his previous car and spare parts in the race. In the race itself, Russell received a five-second penalty for overtaking Valtteri Bottas. Russell finished sixth in the race.
Mercedes, which started the race only 19th Lewis Hamilton rose quickly and promisingly to 12th after the start, but went out in the corner on the 2nd lap after losing control of his car and was unable to continue the race.
– I have never spun, especially in the second round. The car was sensitive on bumps. We need to find out what has been wrong with the car this weekend, Hamilton said.
Sauber’s Bottas finished 17th.
– A variable race. The car felt better than in a sprint. In the beginning, the speed was ok. The second stop came too early, the tires were worn out at the end, Bottas told Viasat.
A Finnish teammate Zhou Guanyu spun as a result of a driving error on lap 10 and fell from 12th to last in the race.
Results, WC points