Martin Brundle on the highlights of the American Grand Prix

Martin Brundle, former Formula 1 driver and now Sky Sports commentator, recalls the key events of the US Grand Prix, which many have called one of the most interesting races of the season.

There are races where I want to applaud loudly the moment I see the checkered flag, but at the last minute I remember I’m actually still commenting on live television.

When Sebastian Vettel overtook Kevin Magnussen on the final lap of a thrilling race around the outer radius of the final corner, who was not going to give up without a fight, this was certainly one of those cases.

The grandstands at the Austin circuit were sold out and all these people witnessed the best show that Formula 1 could have, which had it all: exorbitant speeds, incredible skill, terrifying crashes, restarts, pit stop mistakes and a variety of tactical schematics. . And then there were ambiguous consequences.

It is interesting to see the rise of Formula 1 in America, this trend was also felt last weekend when the Circuit of the Americas (COTA) hosted the US Grand Prix for the 10th time.

Collision at start by Russell

The events of the weekend took place against the backdrop of a scandal related to financial irregularities committed by Red Bull Racing – it remains to be hoped that this story will end in the coming days. Most likely, the team will face some kind of punishment.

As soon as the race started, the drama broke out in the first corner. Max Verstappen started and accelerated better than Carlos Sainz, who started from pole but let the drive wheels slip. Unfortunately for the Spanish Ferrari driver, he decided not to try and get close to Max’s car and then poke the inside radius, but shifted to the right, hoping to take the optimal race trajectory in this sharp left turn on the top of the hill and hoping to gain an advantage at the exit.

Max drove to the left and the Dutchman didn’t have the best trajectory, so his speed was lower at the apex as he tried to position the car on the track so he could exit the corner normally. When Sainz turned around, his Ferrari was right behind Verstappen’s car, and he couldn’t start to accelerate right away, and just then two Mercedes cars belonging to Lewis Hamilton and George Russell overtook him.

They also fought very hard for position, and George had the front wheels locked up, so he failed to turn normally, and he crashed into the back of the Spaniard’s Ferrari. It was entirely Russell’s fault, who he later admitted and apologized to Sainz after the race.

George himself got away with a slightly damaged front wing and a 5-second penalty, but for Sainz this was the fourth time of the season that he was unable to complete a single lap in the Grand Prix.

He probably should have moved further to the right and left the rivals more space on the track, then fought on in second position. Carlos’ actions were absolutely justified when he fought a one-on-one duel with Max, but in this situation he took risks at the start of the race, which he paid for. In fairness it should be noted that he had in fact already passed Turn 1 and his offense is quite understandable as it was the rivals driving behind him who were unable to control their cars.

In the first lap, some drivers used NASCAR fighting tactics, overtaking in the outer radius, and in the general uproar, the front wing of Sergio Perez’s car was damaged, which became the reason for the dispute, which continued after the finish.

Flight from Fernando

The situation on the track stabilized, Verstappen was able to put a decent lead over Hamilton, who managed to avoid problems on the first lap. But then Valtteri Bottas made a U-turn, seemingly harmless enough, but ended up in the gravel pit of fast turn 19, inevitably giving the impression of a safety car.

Some drivers took advantage of this, including Charles Leclerc, who immediately went to the pits for new tyres, because in a situation where the race is neutralized and everyone is driving quite slowly, pit stop losses are minimal.

In general there is a saying in motorsport that “a safety car is followed by another safety car”, although this may not be very typical of Formula 1. The bottom line is that all the remaining participants in the race are in a close group, then they start to accelerate before the tires and brakes heat up, at the same time everyone in the general pandemonium is trying to play at least something. That’s exactly what happened in round 22.

On the straight, Fernando Alonso chased Lance Stroll’s Aston Martin in his Alpine, aiming to take full advantage of the slipstream and get ready to overtake. Of course it can be said that he was driving too close to the opponent’s car, which was not necessary at all, but the indisputable fact is that at the last moment Stroll shifted sharply to the left and for this maneuver he will lose three places at the start in Mexico City.

His car spun in the middle of the track as Alonso flew into the air before his Alpine touched down and caught the barrier. Somehow Fernando managed to reach the pits, where the equipment was quickly put in order, and returned to the track. The team deserves credit for having such a strong car and for the Spanish veteran, the oldest of all drivers in the championship, for never giving up.

In the remaining laps of the race, we saw plenty of great late braking overtaking, sharp wheel-to-wheel fights, and three dozen US Grand Prix participants were warned for not respecting the track limits. In some cases, especially during qualifying, there was a feeling that such warnings were given at random. It would probably be more correct to mount some sensors in the curbs on exiting the bends, the signals of which would be digitally received by the race directors, but it is apparently difficult to find such sensors that can withstand the impact of the mighty Formula 1 cars.

Another feature of the race was the slow pit stops, which in the case of Verstappen and Vettel only led to examples of masterful pilots as these riders moved forward in an attempt to recoup. Of course, one of them won, and the other finished in 7th, then moved to 6th, but that was later.

Is Alonso not being punished too severely?

In my 158 races in Formula 1, it has happened more than once that the rearview mirrors of my cars have started to dangle, flip over, sometimes they fall off, sometimes they break and most of the time the reflective surface was covered in soot, water, oil, or whatever. these combined. Then attempts were made to somehow wipe off the dirt with a glove, and it all ended with focusing on the sound of the engines of rival cars trying to overtake you, and turned your head.

Modern cars don’t smoke much, don’t splash oil and you can’t turn your head in them. But after a short flight and a hard landing, Alonso ran up his right mirror. More precisely, the element of the aerodynamic body kit, in which the mirror is mounted, was damaged. As a result, he dropped out and remained on the track outside the race track.

The team radioed Fernando as to who was coming for him; in addition, there was another mirror on the left side of the car – and in general, who dares to overtake Alonso if he is not in a good mood?

Seriously, the debris on the track is a danger to marshals, spectators and other drivers, but when the track was littered with debris after the collision between Fernando and Lance, the race still started. However, there is no denying that a very solidly sized carbon fiber part has fallen off the Alpine car.

Sergio Pérez’s Red Bull front fender also fell from a support, but during the Grand Prix the team sent the FIA ​​a photo of the damaged area and a description of the nature of the damage, convincing race management that it was was safe to stay on track.

Why is it important to talk about all this? Because this year race management forced Kevin Magnussen into the pits three times for a new nose cone – this happened in Canada, Hungary and Singapore. On the Dane’s Haas, the fender strut was also damaged, but it remained on the car even though it dangled.

Then his team was furious, but now even angrier to see Perez and Alonso allowed to continue the race. That’s why Haas filed protests with the FIA ​​- first during the Grand Prix, then also after the finish.

They are racers, you can understand them because in Haas they just wanted the judging decisions to be consistent, they wanted clarification and more points at the same time. After the race, the stewards decided to accept the protest against Alonso’s car, but in Pérez’s case it was rejected.

As a result, brave Fernando was handed a 30-second penalty after all the adventures and rolled back from 7th to 15th place, also weakening Alpine’s position in their battle with McLaren for 4th place in the Constructors’ Championship.

All this reminded me of a story that happened in 2006 in Monza during qualifying. Alonso then performed well, although his Renault was damaged after a puncture. However, he was handed a highly controversial fine, reportedly for blocking Felipe Massa, even though the Brazilian drove quite far in his Ferrari. The Spaniard then said in his heart that he no longer sees Formula 1 as a sport from now on.

16 years have passed and he is still in Formula 1, but it seems to me that we have seen another example of injustice. Rules are rules, and in general I support if they are strictly followed, but there has to be a bit of common sense in everything! I would say that the decision of who is safe to continue the race with a damaged front wing is very subjective. However, the same Felipe Massa knows very well what happens when parts fall off someone’s car…

Alpine has appealed the stewards’ decision and we will know in Mexico City on Thursday whether the protest is accepted or rejected.

Verstappen chases Hamilton and wins

After all this, the final of the race was also very exciting, with Verstappen chasing Leclerc first and then Hamilton, and finally taking a nice win. This was an expression of deepest respect for Red Bull Racing team owner Dietrich Mateschitz, the sad news of whose death the paddock learned on Saturday.

He saw Max win his second title, but the team has already won the Constructors’ Championship for the fifth time without Mateschitz. We congratulate her on this achievement.

It looked like Lewis Hamilton, who had a great race, would win for the first time this season, but his Mercedes on hard tires didn’t have enough speed to match Max’ Red Bull in medium kit. On the straights, the RB18 is capable of impressive speeds and Verstappen was very determined. But several technical innovations prepared by Mercedes give Hamilton, Russell and the whole team hope that the long-awaited victory is already close.

And now we’re going to Mexico.