The countdown until the end of the season is in full swing, and although Max Verstappen may have already been crowned this season's champion, there is still an important battle being played out for second in the championship - one that may decide the future for Red Bull driver Sergio Perez.
This weekend F1 is back in the US of A with the US Grand Prix being held at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas. And, just like last time out, it's a Sprint weekend! Qualifying for the Grand Prix took place on the Friday with Ferrari's Charles Leclerc snatching pole, after Verstappen became a victim of the dreaded track limits that dropped him to sixth on the grid. Perez qualified in a miserable 9th while his championship rival, Hamilton, will start 3rd. However, before the Grand Prix plays out, it's time for the sprint.
Sprint day, and it's a Verstappen-Leclerc front row, with the former on pole. Tyre blankets are removed and everyone is on the medium tyres. Everyone bar Carlos Sainz, who has opted for softs. A questionable strategy for a race with no mandatory pit stops. The formation lap ends and Verstappen is the first to pull up into his grid slot. The rest of the grid copy their leader, the five lights go out, and they're away.
Verstappen gets a better start than Leclerc but still feels as if he needs to cut him off by taking aggressive action into turn one. Lewis Hamilton also makes the most of this by passing Leclerc, moving his Mercedes into second. Big gainers from the start include Sainz, George Russell and Kevin Magnussen. All making up ground at the first corner.
By the end of lap two Verstappen has pulled a gap to his 2021 rival. His teammate, Perez, who is driving for his career, is closing in on the McLarens, making a lunge on Oscar Piastri. The door is shut and Perez will have to wait longer. However, he gets it done going into turn twelve, taking the place from the Australian at turn thirteen. It's bad news for Piastri who quickly finds himself under attack by Russell. The latter takes the place from the McLaren driver, but did he do it off track? The stewards think so, as they decide to investigate, slapping the Brit with a five second penalty.
Verstappen, who has a lead of nearly a second, tells his engineer; "Driveability is not there. I just lost the rear end completely." He's reassured that it was only a gust of wind. Further back, the Ferrari of Sainz is starting to struggle on the softs. Lando Norris is all over the back of him as they fight for fourth. Norris attempts a move at turn twelve but Sainz defends well, keeping his position. Perez is now onto the back of this battle.
The first black and white flag for track limits is shown to Piastri who has since dropped several more places. One more warning and he will have a penalty. As for Norris in the second McLaren, he finally passes Sainz on lap ten. But there is no rest for Sainz who is now under attack from Perez. He gets by the Spaniard on the following lap.
Although on-track battles are starting to dwindle, there is movement in the mid-field with Daniel Ricciardo, back from his injury, making a move on Lance Stroll for twelfth. However, Stroll quickly becomes the victim of brake failure, something that plagued the Aston Martin driver in practice. He retires on lap seventeen.
Onto the final lap and Zhou Guanyu receives the first, and only, track limit penalty - five seconds. After a relatively quiet race, Verstappen reaches the chequered flag first, ahead of Hamilton and Leclerc. Norris crosses the line just inches behind Leclerc and Perez behind him. Sainz, on the softs, holds on for sixth, Pierre Gasly takes seventh and Russell, after his penalty, drops to eighth, taking the final point.
Race day, and it's Leclerc sitting in pole position. Both the Aston Martin and Haas teams broke parc ferme rules overnight meaning a total of four drivers - Alonso, Stroll, Magnussen and Hulkenberg, will be starting from the pitlane. Hulkenberg and Stroll are starting on the hard tyre, the rest of the field is on the medium. The formation lap comes to an end, and they're off.
Leclerc has a slow get away and is quickly under attack by the faster starting Norris, dropping the pole sitter into second. Elsewhere, Verstappen is up one place to fifth and Russell has dropped to eighth. At turn twelve, Sainz, currently in third, has a good look at this teammate but quickly backs out of the move. By the end of the first lap, Norris has a lead of just under two seconds.
As with yesterday's Sprint Race, Russell has been noted for leaving the track and gaining an advantage on the opening lap. He's currently battling with the Alpine of Esteban Ocon. Speaking of Ocon, he's reporting damage on the radio and is soon passed by Russell, with Perez also getting through. Soon enough, the Alpine driver finds himself tumbling down the order. Further up the field, Hamilton is catching Sainz. Using DRS he passes the Ferrari going into turn twelve. Verstappen, who is taking it steady, also passes Sainz a lap later at the same turn. News is in on Russell - no further investigation. However, Perez is on the radio to his team - "Russell is going off a lot."
Hamilton is currently on a charge, taking second from Leclerc. The Mercedes sits only three seconds behind Norris who is still out front. Pole sitter, Leclerc, isn't in any hurry out there today, Verstappen is now onto the back of him and within DRS range. The three time World Champion doesn't make a move, giving Sainz, behind them, a chance to close up. Meanwhile, there is movement in the pits with Zhou coming in for Alfa Romeo. Albon, Bottas and Magnussen also come in. Ocon, who retired from the race some time ago, is about to be joined by Oscar Piastri and his overheating McLaren. For the other McLaren, however, they've all agreed on Plan A.
Leclerc is dropping back even more into the clutches of Verstappen, with the latter making a move at turn twelve. Leclerc is pushed wide and comes back on track ahead of Verstappen. He yields the place around turn thirteen into fourteen, after claiming the position off track. Despite this, the battle is noted by Race Control. Ahead of the pair, Hamilton sets the fastest lap of the race, cutting the gap ahead to Norris to just under two seconds. Meanwhile, Norris complains on team radio; "I don't know what's going on at Turns 8 and 9, but I'm struggling a lot with the balance." McLaren inform him that it is most likely a wind issue.
At the end of lap sixteen, Verstappen shows his commitment to a two stop by pitting for a second set of mediums. The other front runners respond with Norris, Sainz and Perez also darting into the pitlane. Norris returns to the track ahead of Verstappen. However, it's Hamilton currently out front. His team tell him and Russell to stay out for at least five more laps. Hamilton isn't too keen, but Russell is feeling optimistic that they can make a one stop race work. Hamilton's fears are quickly realised when he locks up going into turn eleven and is told that Verstappen is now in his pit window. Mercedes call the Brit in who eventually rejoins the track in fifth. It's currently Leclerc and Russell out front. Both are yet to pit. Saying that, Mercedes pit Russell from second.
In the midfield, Albon currently finds himself with two track limit warnings. The next will be the black and white flag. After starting in the pitlane, Alonso, currently outside the points, takes tenth from Zhou. There is also movement out front as leader, Leclerc, comes in for his stop. He comes out on the hard tyre in sixth. Norris, now back in the lead, locks up into turn eleven, slowing enough for Verstappen to edge ever closer. Mercedes encourage Hamilton to push, forcasting him to catch up with leaders sooner rather than later. On lap twenty seven, Verstappen has DRS on Norris. It's only a matter of time that normality will be resumed.
Team orders come into play at Alfa Romeo with Zhou being asked to let a faster Bottas through. There is also an incident noted by the stewards between the Aston Martin of Stroll and the Williams of Sargeant. But right now, it's Verstappen giving us all the racing action with a late dive on Norris into turn twelve. He takes the lead and disappears into the sunset. However, Norris refuses to give up and clings onto the back of the Red Bull, telling his team that Verstappen is breaching track limits. But, even though Verstappen's lead is now up to over three seconds, he's not having an easy time out there. "Mate, these brakes are so s*** compared to yesterday. What a piece of s***!"
The second round of pitstops are well underway. Norris comes in from second, Verstappen covers him the next time around. They both switch to hards, with Verstappen back on track one second ahead of the McLaren driver. Leclerc, who is on a one stop strategy, holds Verstappen up. However, the Ferrari's tyres are cooked. Verstappen gets past, retaking the lead on lap thirty nine. Hamilton pits, coming out in fourth.
Verstappen still isn't happy. He's told about the time he is loosing in the braking zones and replies; "yes because the brakes are s***." At the back of the field, Sargeant is the first driver to get given the black and white flag for track limits. His teammate, Albon, is on the move, passing Ricciardo in the Alpha Tauri for twelfth. Ricciardo is also passed by Hulkeberg and Sargeant. By lap forty three, Hamilton has also disposed of Leclerc. The top three currently stands as Verstappen, Norris and Hamilton.
Hamilton is on a charge on these final laps, matching the pace of Verstappen. Norris is slower than his rivals and starts to be reeled in by the Mercedes. Hamilton is soon within DRS range of Norris. He attempts a move into turn one but is blocked by the McLaren. The "switcharoo" is used into turn two and the move is done. At Aston Martin, Alonso reports a suspension failure. However, his team can't see anything troublesome on the data. He eventually pits and retires.
Pole sitter, Leclerc, is having a mare of a race. He's just been ordered to let Sainz through. "Why did I have to let Sainz by? Let's talk after the race," he tells Ferrari. Could they get Sainz onto the podium? He's catching Norris in third. As for Leclerc, he's been left in the clutches of Perez, who quickly makes an overtake. At Williams, they receive the first five second penalty of the day. It's for Albon. For track limits.
With two laps left to race, Hamilton has got the gap down to less than three seconds. He's coming for Verstappen who is really feeling the pressure. Tsunoda makes a late pit stop, switching onto softs. He's going for the fastest lap.
On the final lap, there is just over one second between the top two. Verstappen breathes a brief sigh of relief as he receives DRS from backmarker Zhou, stopping Hamilton making a lunge down the back straight. Round the final corner, Verstappen is still ahead, taking the chequered flag just inches in front of Hamilton, giving him is fiftieth Grand Prix win. Norris holds on for third, with Sainz in fourth. Then comes Perez, Leclerc, Russell, Gasly, Stroll and, finally, Tsunoda, who gets an extra point for the fastest lap.
However, it didn't end there. Hours later, news broke that both Hamilton and Leclerc had been disqualified from the final race results. This was because of a technical infringement that effected both drivers. The final point positions go to: Verstappen, Norris, Sainz, Perez, Russell, Gasly, Stroll, Tsunoda, Albon and Sargeant. The latter getting his first ever F1 points!
And that, my friends, is that. Four to go. Next up: Viva Mexico!
Yorumlar