Ferrari secures victory at the United States GP

Ferrari secures victory at the United States GP

The United States GP has the makings of a fantastic race weekend. Fast corners, wide runoffs, and elevation changes provide an exciting viewer experience, but this year the drivers supplied the entertainment. Lando Norris continues hunting down the current points leader, Max Verstappen, while Ferrari has proven its pace, posing a threat in qualifying. Franco Colapinto and Liam Lawson, who are the newest drivers to the grid, showed up and demonstrated their rookie spirit in some impressive driving displays.

This weekend proved to be a long one with the addition of a sprint race. For those less familiar with the modern Formula 1 weekend layout, the addition of a sprint race was designed to create more dynamic racing, with at least six sprint races throughout the season. These shortened races are reserved for tracks with better overtaking opportunities and typically are a third of the length of a traditional GP.

Does this make the weekend much longer? Well, not really. Traditionally, a weekend comprises five sessions, including three practice sessions, one qualifier, and the race. In the case of a sprint race, the second and third practice sessions are replaced with a sprint qualifier and the sprint itself.

On this occasion, it was clear that Ferrari had a newfound pace, and Verstappen needed to fend off Norris. Verstappen demonstrated his pace in the sprint qualifying round, and he secured the first race victory and the allocated points in the sprint race. Carlos Sainz gave Ferrari hope for the main race with his second-place finish with Norris in hot pursuit.

As the main qualifying event approached, it was clear that Lando Norris had a point to prove. Lewis Hamilton, on the other hand, had a forgettable weekend, beginning with a shocker in Q1, exceeding track limits on his hot lap, and forcing a race-day start from the back of the grid.

Norris set a blinder for the first lap in Q3, one that Verstappen struggled to replicate. But as the timer approached zero, Verstappen began his final charge for a shot at pole. His first sector was the fastest yet, but George Russell in the second Mercedes-AMG overcommitted into one of the fastest corners on the track and found himself in the barriers. This concluded not only his qualifying lap but Verstappen’s attempt at snatching pole from his rival.

The weather was perfect throughout the weekend, and as the cars lined up on the grid, the scene was set for an exciting day of racing. Norris led the way, with Verstappen behind in second; third and fourth were placed in Ferrari's hands, with Leclerc being the faster man in red. Oscar Piastri secured fifth, and the crowd was eagerly awaiting the first turn.

As the lights went out, Verstappen immediately applied the pressure to the inside of Norris’s car. The width of the Circuit of the Americas makes defence a top priority. Norris successfully closed off the pursuing Red Bull but also lost a significant amount of speed due to the tight corner entry. This opened the door for the Ferrari duo to make the most of the now-open racing line. At the exit of the first turn, Charles Leclerc took the lead, with teammate Carlos Sainz closing on Norris and slotting in behind Verstappen.

Further back in the pack, Alex Albon clipped the rear tyre of Esteban Ocon and forced an early virtual safety car, but it wouldn’t be long before the yellow flags would be used again. Lap 2 marked another setback for Hamilton, as he replicated his teammate's qualifying incident. He entered the high-speed corner with a little too much flair and wound up beached in the gravel with an early departure from the Grand Prix.

As you might expect, Verstappen was breathing down the neck of the lead Ferrari by the end of lap 5, but Leclerc refused to give up and maintained his position early on. Meanwhile, Liam Lawson, in a cheeky display of skill on lap 6, passed Fernando Alonso around the outside of turn 2 in an impressive show of commitment. He might be new to the grid, but this youngster has already shown impressive confidence and potential.

Unfortunately for him, he was unable to maintain the position, and Alonso quickly reminded him that he is in the presence of a two-time champion. Lawson, unfazed by the challenge, dove down the inside of the Aston Martin driver on lap 11, again taking back the position, and fended off the now frustrated Alonso in the corners to come.

Who doesn’t love a little controversy in racing? Well, George Russell forced the Sauber of Valtteri Bottas off the road into turn 1, with the Merc driver receiving a 5-second penalty. Remember this for later.

The Ferraris had to come up with a strategy to defend against the determined Verstappen; the plan was for Sainz to undercut the Red Bull, and hopefully, a couple of laps on fresh rubber would allow him to take the position and stretch the gap wider for both Ferraris. On lap 22, Sainz changed to a set of hard tyres.

For Alonso, this was the race in which the youngsters got the better of him. As lap 23 arrived, Franco Colapinto in his Williams sold him a fantastic fake outside line and dove down the now open inside of Alonso. The Spaniard attempted a counterattack, but Colapinto's track awareness proved to better his opponent's retaliation, and Colapinto had secured his tenth position for now.

Now to see if the undercut had worked on Verstappen: Lap 26 brought with it a stop for the second-place Red Bull, and after a rapid 2.7-second stop, he headed down towards the end of the pit lane. To his disappointment, the undercut had worked, and Sainz sailed past him as he exited the pits.

After this promising turn of events for Sainz, Leclerc was called in a lap later, on lap 27, and managed to maintain his position ahead of his teammate. Both McLarens still had to pit, and Leclerc was picking up speed, overtaking Oscar Piastri, who was still nurturing his 30-lap-old, medium-compound tyres. Norris was the first to pit on lap 32, with Piastri following a lap behind. The leader was obviously gaining ground quickly, so McLaren's late move was strange, and the only probable reason for it was the hopes of a safety car.

Nevertheless, Norris returned to the track behind Verstappen, while Piastri pitted on lap 33, fortunately maintaining fifth position behind his teammate. Liam Lawson was back in the spotlight on lap 39 with another bold overtake, but this time with the help of DRS and fresh tyres. He successfully challenged Pierre Gasly with another impressive overtake and defensive move.

As the race approached its end, Verstappen wasn't closing in on Sainz in second with a determined Norris in his mirrors. Remember Russell's penalty on Bottas earlier in the race? Well, this time around Norris used what worked for Bottas and used DRS to stick his nose ahead of Verstappen’s into the corner. Verstappen, not impressed by this lunge down his outside, clipped an early apex and forced Norris wide and off the track. Norris's faster line allowed him to take the position off the track, and he refused to return it. This time, Verstappen wasn’t penalised for forcing Norris wide, but rather Norris received a second penalty and had to pull ahead of the Red Bull to keep the place.

The Ferraris were untouchable in the later stages of the race. Leclerc brought home the victory, with Sainz following in second. Norris was unable to pull ahead of the 5-second mark, handing the final podium position to Verstappen, finishing in fourth and ahead of his teammate.

This weekend offered everything a worthy F1 race needs. Rookies cheekily toying with veterans, a championship tussle, and a pretty impressive track for it all to play out on. I do, however, feel that the FIA needs to tighten up their penalty consistency, as Norris was forced wide and penalised, unlike Bottas, who wasn't penalised for a similar 'infringement'—a recurring problem in the sport. With Lawson and Colapinto proving their potential, the future of Formula 1 looks incredibly bright.

See the race results on the official F1 website here.

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