Sunny. Dry. Air +28…29С, highway +47…48С
The Saturday sprint format seems tailor-made for Austin, where organizers successfully combine Formula 1 sessions with an entertainment program. The stands were full on all three days, with the stage coming in second behind Silverstone in terms of attendance.
The audience had something to see. The American Grand Prix was preceded by a four-week break, the teams introduced new products and the balance of power changed. Another intriguing factor was the new asphalt. There was no possibility of working with the tires over a long distance; there was only a short one-hour practice on Friday, forcing the teams to adjust their strategy during the race.
On Friday, the Ferrari drivers posted the fastest time, with Verstappen winning qualifying for the sprint and the sprint, and Lando Norris taking pole position in qualifying for the main race.
Norris and Verstappen started the race from the front row of the starting field, Sainz and Leclerc from second, Piastri and Gasly from third. Zhou and Lawson received penalties for replacing the power unit and started at the back of the pack, while Russell started the race from the pit lane due to a violation of parc ferme rules.
Pirelli brought the three ‘medium’ compositions to the stage – C2, C3 and C4 in the roles Hard, Medium and Soft. Stroll, Colapinto, Hamilton, Lawson and Russell started on Hard, the rest started the race on Medium.
At the start, Verstappen pushed Norris off the track, Leclerc led the race and Sainz put pressure on Verstappen. Alonso lost three positions, Hamilton gained five.
Top ten in the second round: Leclerc – Verstappen – Sainz – Norris – Piastri – Gasly – Magnussen – Tsunoda – Perez – Alonso.
Okon rolled back after making contact with Albon and turning around. The stewards left the incident without consequences.
On the third lap, Hamiton’s car got stuck in the gravel after retiring at Turn 19. Yellow flags appeared and the safety car came out. Albon changed his tires.
A restart was announced on the 6th lap. Leclerc retained the lead. Lawson beat Stroll for 12th place. Lance dropped to last place and raced to make up ground by passing Albon off the track.
On lap 7, Hulkenberg passed Alonso in the battle for tenth place.
Sainz complained about the lack of power from the power plant during acceleration, the cockpit smelled of gasoline – the team suspected a leak, but soon everything turned out fine.
On the 10th lap, Zhou spun in the first corner with no consequences to the car.
Top ten in round 10: Leclerc – Verstappen – Sainz – Norris – Piastri – Gasly – Magnussen – Tsunoda – Perez – Hulkenberg.
On lap 11, Lawson passed Alonso for 11th place.
On the twelfth lap, Leclerc’s lead over Verstappen was more than five seconds and gradually increased.
On the 13th lap, Russell pushed Bottas off the track, the stewards quickly assessed the incident and gave George a five-second time penalty.
On lap 14, Zhou made a pit stop. Russell passed Colapinto for 13th place.
On lap 16 Bottas changed the tires.
On lap 17 Perez passed Tsunoda and Russell passed Alonso. Yuki then attacked Hulkenberg, but the Japanese pushed Nico off the track.
On the 18th lap Magnussen made a pit stop, on the 19th – Gasly and Tsunoda.
On lap 22, Russell passed Lawson for eighth place. Sainz was the first of the top three to change tires and returned to the track in fifth.
On lap 23, Colapinto passed Alonso for 10th place. Magnussen overtook Stroll for 13th place.
On lap 26, Verstappen made a pit stop and returned to the track behind Sainz.
On the 27th lap, Leclerc, the race leader, changed tires and returned in third. Perez and Alonso made a pit stop.
On lap 28, Hulkenberg and Stroll switched tires.
On the 31st lap, Leclerc overtook Piastri, who had not been in the pits.
On the 32nd lap, Norris and Ocon made a pit stop, on the 33rd – Piastri.
Gasly received a 5-second time penalty because he had gained a lead by driving off the track. Tsunoda received the same punishment for forcing Albon out.
Albon changed tires on lap 34, Zhou changed on lap 36 and Lawson changed on lap 37.
On lap 38 Perez passed Colapinto for seventh place.
On lap 39 Magnussen made his second pit stop. Lawson beat Gasly for 10th place.
On the 40th lap Colapinto changed tires, on the 41st – Russell.
Top ten in lap 41: Leclerc – Sainz – Verstappen – Norris – Piastri – Perez – Hulkenberg – Russell – Lawson – Gasly.
On lap 42, Tsunoda spun in the first corner with no consequences.
Norris gradually closed the gap to Verstappen on slightly fresher tires and was in the DRS zone behind Max’s car on the 44th lap.
On lap 46, Ocon passed Bottas for 15th place.
Norris put Verstappen under pressure for a long time, the drivers were separated by tenths. On the 52nd lap, Norris attacked again, Max pushed him off the track and then pulled away himself, but Lando returned to the track ahead of his opponent and did not return to his position, believing he was ahead at the top. The stewards immediately investigated the incident and gave Norris a five-second time penalty.
On lap 56, Russell passed Perez for sixth place.
==
Charles Leclerc won the American Grand Prix, achieving the eighth victory of his career and the third of the season. Carlo Sainz finished second – Ferrari achieved its 87th victory double in history and first since Australia’24.
Max Verstappen classified third and took a few more points from Norris in the individual classification.
By finishing ninth, Lawson earned his first points of the season. Colapinto earned points for the second time with a Williams.
The battle continues next week in Mexico City.
Race results
| Pilot | Team | Time | Speed | Pete |
| 1. S. Leclerc | Ferrari | – | 1 | |
| 2. K. Sainz | Ferrari | +8,562 | 1 | |
| 3. M. Verstappen | Red Bull | +19.412 | 1 | |
| 4. L.Norris | McLaren | +20.354 | 1 | |
| 5. O. Piastri | McLaren | +21.921 | 1 | |
| 6. D. Russell | Mercedes | +56.295 | 1 | |
| 7. C. Perez | Red Bull | +59.072 | 1 | |
| 8. N. Hulkenberg | Hare | +62.957 | 1 | |
| 9. L. Lawson | RB | +70.763 | 1 | |
| 10. F. Colapinto | Williams | +71.979 | 1 | |
| 11. K. Magnussen | Hare | +79.782 | 2 | |
| 12. P. Gasly | Alps | +90.558 | 1 | |
| 13. F. Alonso | Aston Martin | +1 round | 1 | |
| 14. Yu.Tsunoda | RB | +1 round | 1 | |
| 15. L. Walk | Aston Martin | +1 round | 1 | |
| 16. A. Elbon | Williams | +1 round | 2 | |
| 17. V. Bottas | Sauber | +1 round | 1 | |
| 18. E. Okon | Alps | +1 round | 2 | |
| 19. G.Zhou | Sauber | +1 round | 2 |
Best round: Esteban Ocon (Alpine) – 1:37.330 (lap 55)
Reasons for the meetings
| Pilot | Team | Kroogov | Cause |
| L. Hamilton | Mercedes | 2 | departure |
Championship Position: Individual Competition
Championship position: Constructors’ Championship
| Team | Engine | Glasses | |
| = | 1. McLaren F1 Team | Mercedes | 544 |
| = | 2. Oracle Red Bull Racing | Honda RBPT | 504 |
| = | 3. Scuderia Ferrari | Ferrari | 496 |
| = | 4. Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team | Mercedes | 344 |
| = | 5. Aston Martin Aramco F1 Team | Mercedes | 86 |
 |
6. MoneyGram Haas F1 Team | Ferrari | 38 |
 |
7. Visa Cash App RB F1 Team | Honda RBPT | 36 |
| = | 8. Williams Racing | Mercedes | 17 |
| = | 9. BWT Alpine F1 Team | Renault | 13 |
Source: F1 News
I am Christopher Clyde, an experienced journalist and content writer with a passion for sports. I have been writing about Formula 1 news for the past five years and am currently employed as an author at athletistic.com, one of the top sports websites in the US.
