Howdy ya’ll! It’s Round 19 of the 2024 Formula One Season, with the sport returning to the USA for the second time this year. And, with the championship battle getting ever so hotter, Austin was sure to be an exciting race weekend. Indeed, exciting it was!
Kicking off the weekend’s motorsport festivities was the return off the Sprint race. Something we haven’t seen since the Austrian Grand Prix, all the way back in June. And, I know we’re not all fans of the concept of a Sprint race, but the Austin Sprint gave us some entertaining on track action that would surely reassure us of anything but a boring Grand Prix come Sunday.
One of the bigger talking points come the start of the Sprint was Max Verstappen and Red Bull’s return to pole position and, like more traditional times, were the favourite to take home the Sprint race win. However, it quickly became evident, with Lando Norris - Verstappen’s closest Championship rival, was not going to let him get away with it that easy, jumping from 4th to 2nd come Turn 2 on the opening lap. And of course, the excitement and dramatics did not end there.
The Sprint race proved that on track battles can still be quite intense in Formula One, with stunning wheel to wheel racing from George Russell, Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz. The battle between the Ferrari duo of Leclerc and Sainz, in particular, was worth the watch considering Sainz’ departure from the team is looming ever so closer. He was out to beat his teammate, and beat him he did, finishing in 2nd compared to Leclerc’s 4th.
Elsewhere, while Norris was battling for a podium position, his teammate, Oscar Piastri, was having quite the mare, finding himself starting the Sprint from the back end of the field, before incurring a five second time penalty in the race for forcing the Alpine of Pierre Gasly off track. Piastri would eventually finish in 10th position and out of the points. Liam Lawson, on his return to Formula One with RB, would also finish out of the points, all the way down in 16th. Although for Lawson, his race would get very spicy while battling Fernando Alonso in the Aston Martin, with the latter later spotted “having some words” with the New Zealand youngster. Have we just witnessed the start of a new rivalry?
But, of course, despite plenty of on track battles, this Sprint would ultimately be Verstappen’s, with Sainz and Norris joining him in the top three. A great set up going into Sunday’s Grand Prix!
After a qualifying session that was maimed by a stricken George Russell in the barrier at Turn 19, it would be Championship rivals, Norris and Verstappen, who would line up side by side on the front row. However, it would be Ferrari and Leclerc that would take an early lead into Turn 2 on the opening lap, dropping pole man Norris down to 4th and Verstappen into 2nd. Elsewhere, in what was a dramatic start to the race, Esteban Ocon would spin at Turn 1 while Verstappen and Sainz; both with issues that were later resolved, would battle it out for 2nd. Lewis Hamilton, who started towards the back of the grid, hit the gravel trap on Lap 3, bringing out a long awaited Safety Car that was last seen during the Canadian Grand Prix earlier on in the season.
With the Safety Car's only appearance during the US GP over with, normal on-track business resumed with plenty of action up and down the field. At the back of the pack it would be Russell versus Ocon, Alexander Albon and Lance Stroll, with the latter skimming the gravel before getting noted for gaining an advantage, an occurring theme for many a driver throughout the race. Whereas Stroll would get away this, others weren't so lucky with 5 second time penalties being slapped on Russell, Pierre Gasly, Yuki Tsunoda and Norris. More on the latter later.
This race, in particular, gave us some fantastic wheel to wheel action, including the continuation of the Lawson/Alonso battle from the Sprint race. Lawson would be the eventual winner between this pairing. Red Bull's Sergio Perez would continue to struggle on track, finding himself stuck behind Tsunoda before finally getting past on Lap 18. He would later be stuck behind Franco Colapinto also, before making it past to finish 7th in a race that would do nothing to help the rumours surrounding the future of this career.
Most drivers would find themselves stopping for fresh rubber twice in this race, with many taking advantage of a strong undercut. Two examples of this would be Kevin Magnussen undercutting Gasly, and Sainz undercutting Verstappen for 2nd in what helped set up a fantastic, nail biting battle between Verstappen and Norris, while leaders; Leclerc and Sainz, would drive off into the distance.
If previous races are to go by, your typical F1 aficionado would be well aware that things were about to get spicy as Norris, on fresher tyres, hunted down Verstappen for the final podium position. And, after several close calls, both drivers would take to the run off at Turn 12, with Norris reemerging ahead in 3rd position. Verstappen, frustrated by this, was adament that Norris should give the place back. However, Norris and the McLaren team did not agree with this, continuing as they meant to go on. Norris would eventually succumb to a "controversial" 5 second time penalty, dropping him to 4th behind Verstappen.
But, this race belonged to Leclerc and Ferrari, as he crossed the finish line in 1st to take his 3rd win of the season, while closing in on Norris in the championship battle. Sainz would come home 2nd, with Verstappen in 3rd, closing out another fantastic weekend of Formula One racing.
Next up, F1 hits Mexico!
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