Valliant Verstappen holds off Hamilton in scorching United States Grand Prix.
P1 – VER
P2 – HAM
P3 – PER
Podium Finishers
Fans were captivated on Sunday with a battle between the title protagonists that ended just 1.3 seconds apart at the checkered flag.
Polesitter Max Verstappen lost at the start to the speedy Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton, who gained P1 from Verstappen in the esses.
Verstappen pitted first for hard tires on Lap 11, undercutting Lewis Hamilton by a second after his pit stop on Lap 14.
Thanks to the scorching Texas heat (and humidity), fans were in store for a second set of pit stops. Verstappen pulled the trigger first, pitting on Lap 29 for another set of hard tires with Perez following behind.
With an 11.5 second lead, Hamilton pitted on Lap 37. He would emerge 8.8 seconds behind his title rival. It appeared it would come down to the final three laps, which rang true in the end.
As Verstappen began to encounter backmarkers on Lap 41, the gap was shredded. Ultimately, the Dutch driver crossed the finish line first despite DRS, a mere 1.3 seconds separating him from Hamilton.
Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez finished third, sure to bring many smiles to the Red Bull garage and cheering fans about.
Best of the Rest
Charles Leclerc drove another spectacular race in his Ferrari on Sunday, finishing P4 after holding off the papaya McLaren of Daniel Ricciardo all race.
The Australian driver finished P5, ahead of the Ferrari of Carlos Sainz in P6 who lost to Ricciardo earlier in the race.
Valtteri Bottas finished P7, after starting ninth on the grid, overtaking the McLaren of Lando Norris in pit stops.
Rookie Yuki Tsunoda finished P9 after teammate Pierre Gasly retired from the race due to suspension issues.
It was the Aston Martin of Sebastian Vettel who rounded out the points, despite starting from P18 thanks to an engine penalty.
Triple Retirements
In addition to Gasly’s retirement, both Alpine’s retired from the race on Sunday late in the race. Esteban Ocon retired on Lap 42, while teammate Alonso retired with only five laps remaining due to a rear wing issue.
Looking Ahead
Red Bull driver Sergio Perez looks to take momentum into his home race in Mexico City. It’s lights out in two weeks at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.
