Verstappen takes 50th Grand Prix victory in tense US GP

Max Verstappen hailed victorious for the 50th time in his F1 career after a tense race to the line in Austin, beating Lewis Hamilton and Lando Norris to the top step of the United States Grand Prix podium.

Following a busy night in the pitlane, only 16 cars lined up on the grid, their eyes focused on the five lights ahead.

As for the other four cars, both Haas and Aston Martin had made set-up changes overnight, hopeful of maximising their new upgrades around the Circuit of The Americas.

As the lights went, it was Lando Norris who got the better of Pole man Charles Leclerc, crossing the line at the end of Lap 1 over a second clear of the Ferrari.

Norris’ teammate also had a near-perfect getaway, finishing the opening lap in sixth place after starting from P10, despite a heavy hit with Esteban Ocon.

Ocon sustained significant sidepod damage from the first-lap incident, ultimately forcing the Frenchman into retirement on Lap 7.

The drivers set off, led by Lando Norris, for the United States GP. Image: Zak Mauger / LAT Images.

Lewis Hamilton regained his podium place from Carlos Sainz, breezing past the Spaniard into Turn 12 on Lap 4.

Leclerc was Hamilton’s next target, one which the seven-time world champion pipped off with ease to take P2.

Having gained one position off the line, Max Verstappen’s United States Grand Prix campaign truly began on Lap 5, with the Dutchman starting his journey back to the front with an overtake on the #55 Ferrari.

Zhou Guanyu, having lost three places on the opening lap, was the first driver to come in for a pitstop on Lap 10, swapping out his medium tyres for the hard compound in a 4.1-second stop.

Piastri was among the next drivers to pull into the pits, however, for a much more disappointing reason.

The young Australian was instructed to keep his foot off the throttle, lifting and coasting all the way back to the pits before being wheeled back into his garage.

Ultimately, it was damage to a radiator and a water leak obtained in the contact with Ocon for the 22-year-old rookie.

Oscar Piastri retiring due to damage at the United States GP. Image: Steven Tee / LAT Images.

With the podium well within reach, Verstappen pushed Leclerc wide into Turn 1, the duo continuing the battle through to the next sequence of corners before the Red Bull cemented its place in P3.

The Turn 1 incident was noted back race control, however, to no avail.

Sergio Perez, running behind Russell in P7, was quickly becoming frustrated with the Mercedes driver over the radio, complaining of track limits infringements by the driver ahead.

Hamilton began making an impact on the race leader, cutting down Norris’ 2-second lead. 

Whilst being hunted down, Norris asked his team for help after complaining of balance issues through Turns 8 and 9.

He was instructed to avoid the kerbs, with the balance issues being put down to inconsistent wind gusts.

On Lap 17, Max Verstappen was the first of the front-runners to make a stop, committing to a two-stop race with the choice to don new mediums.

Movement was triggered in the Ferrari, Mercedes and McLaren garages, with Norris charging into the pitlane for a set of hard tyres, followed by Sainz and Perez who opted for mediums.

Hamilton inherited the race lead, being instructed by his team to target +4, eyeing down a one-stop race.

However, the Mercedes driver was clearly struggling, locking up on his heavily used tyres into Turn 11. 

On his new mediums, the newly-crowned three-time world champion began setting fastest laps, running 4 seconds behind Norris.

Lando Norris leads Max Verstappen during the United States GP. Image: Glenn Dunbar / LAT Images.

This speed allowed the Red Bull driver to make his way within Hamilton’s pit window, the gap only reduced further by a 3.6-second stationary time from the Mercedes pit crew.

Hamilton rejoined the race in P5, 6 seconds behind Verstappen.

On Lap 22, the #63 came in for his stop, leaving Leclerc and Daniel Ricciardo lapping as the only drivers yet to stop.

Ricciardo, running long on his first stint, had made his way into P7 by staying out.

The Australian pitted on Lap 23, dropping back to P15 behind the home racer, Logan Sargeant.

Leclerc was next to stop, switching out his battered medium tyres for the white-marked compound on Lap 24, hopeful to hold a late advantage over his competitors in the fight for the podium places.

Within the span of two laps, Alex Albon received two track limits warning, making late penalties for a few of the drivers a very real possibility.

The lead had returned to Norris, however, it wasn’t securely his.

A menacing Verstappen was just 1.5 seconds behind the McLaren by Lap 25, with the gap reducing to within DRS range on the following lap.

A dive down the inside at Turn 12 was beyond Norris’ defensive limits, seeing the fast-charging Red Bull completing the overtake to find itself back within its comfort zone out in front.

Max Verstappen made the overtake stick of Lando Norris. Image: Mark Sutton / Sutton Images.

The first bout of second stops were made by the Alfa Romeos on Lap 29/30, with the duo both opting to run the hard tyre despite the struggles felt up and down the board.

Ricciardo struggled to make his way back through the field after his first stop, running down in P14 with the inheritance of two positions from the Alfa Romeo pitstops, desperate to pass Nico Hulkenberg ahead.

Norris remained within DRS range for a few laps after the overtake of the lead was made on him, reporting back to his team on Verstappen’s track limits violations across the lap.

The Dutchman did, however, begin to pull away from the McLaren, driving clear of the DRS threat on Lap 32 despite becoming very unhappy with the brakes on his RB19.

In his second of three home races, Sargeant made his second stop on Lap 33, rejoining the race down in P17 on the medium compound, with only Kevin Magnussen behind him.

Next into the pitlane was Norris who relinquished his tired hards for a fresh set, hoping to tempt Red Bull into an early stop.

Upon return to the circuit, Norris was 23 seconds behind Verstappen, indeed tempting the Dutchman who pulled in on the following lap.

His 3.3-second pitstop allowed Norris to make gains, however, not enough to successfully complete the undercut, running 1.6 seconds behind.

With under 20 laps remaining, the final points places were occupied by the Aston Martin duo who were having a refreshingly quiet race.

They were over 10 seconds clear of the AlphaTauris behind, with Yuki Tsunoda in P11 having completed two pit stops, and Ricciardo in P12 still on his second set of tyres.

Daniel Ricciardo leads Alex Albon during the United States GP. Image: Sam Bloxham / LAT Images.

On Lap 38, the order at the top of the timing sheets shifted once again, with Hamilton ducking into the pits while Verstappen completed an overtake on Leclerc into Turn 1 to regain the lead.

Lando Norris was the next to demote the Ferrari, doing so with ease through Turn 12.

Back in P6, Perez set the new fastest lap of the race on the hard tyres, lapping slightly quicker than his teammate 13 seconds ahead in the lead, and running 3.1 seconds behind Sainz.

On Lap 42, Ricciardo had Albon right on the rear of his gearbox, attempting to defend 12th place down the main straight, however, proving no match for the DRS-aided Williams out of Turn 1.

Lewis Hamilton promoted himself into the final podium place, using DRS down the straight to gain momentum into Turn 12.

Despite his complaints over the radio, Hamilton’s team informed the #44 that a forecasted P2 finish or potential win was on the cards.

Ricciardo’s woes continued, with the AlphaTauri losing yet another position to Nico Hulkenberg with 10 laps to go.

Within a matter of corners, the Australian was demoted once again, this time by Logan Sargeant, seeing Ricciardo running down in P15 at the fault of his team’s one-stop strategy.

Hamilton began closing in on Norris 2 seconds ahead, cutting that margin down by four-tenths across Lap 47.

As they crossed the line on Lap 48, the gap was bordering on DRS range.

Hamilton had a look at Norris into Turn 12, unable to pass the wide McLaren in that instance.

Lewis Hamilton and Lando Norris battle into Turn 1. Image: Mark Sutton / Sutton Images.

With the aid of DRS and Norris running deep into Turn 1, Hamilton was able to make the overtake for P2 stick coming into Turn 2.

As a last-ditch attempt at recovering positions from their failed one-stop, AlphaTauri pitted Ricciardo on Lap 49, putting the quickest soft compound on the #3’s car.

The Australian wasn’t able to make gains from last place, still having to cut down on the pitstop deficit before encountering his competitors over 10 seconds ahead.

Fernando Alonso feared a rear suspension failure on his Aston Martin, as the team discovered the issue had to do with their newly upgraded floor.

The Spaniard was instructed to retire, doing so on Lap 51.

The Ferrari pitwall instructed Leclerc to let the quicker Ferrari of Carlos Sainz by on Lap 50, with the Monegasque requesting an explanation after the race.

Sainz immediately set off, hunting down Lando Norris 5.2 seconds ahead.

One lap later, the gap between Sainz and Norris had dropped to 4.2 seconds, with the Ferrari pit wall reporting that the McLaren was lapping one second slower than Sainz.

The Ferrari duo make the switch. Image: Mark Sutton / Sutton Images.

However, it wasn’t all positive for Ferrari, with Leclerc left stranded and vulnerable to Perez behind.

Sergio Perez was able to make the easy overtake, claiming P5 from Leclerc. 

With three laps remaining, Sainz was 3.9 seconds behind the #4, while Lewis Hamilton was closing in on an angry Verstappen in the lead.

Heading into the final lap, the gap between first and second was under two seconds.

With the aid of DRS from the back-markers, Max Verstappen was able to hold on to his lead, crossing the line in first place to take his 50th Grand Prix victory in Austin.

Lewis Hamilton finished 2.2 seconds behind the Dutchman, taking P2 as he took the chequered flag at the Circuit of The Americas.

Claiming ‘Driver of The Day’ along with the team’s fourth podium in a row, Lando Norris finished the United States Grand Prix in third place.

The podium finish from Norris, even with his teammate’s retirement, promotes McLaren into P4 in the Constructors’ Championship, now sitting 7 points ahead of Aston Martin.

Podium finishers Max Verstappen, Lewis Hamilton and Lando Norris celebrate on the podium. Image: Chris Graythen/Getty Images // Getty Images/Red Bull Content Pool.

Carlos Sainz dropped back in the final lap, finishing 4.4 seconds behind his former teammate in P4.

Sergio Perez took P5 from sixth-place finisher Charles Leclerc, with George Russell falling in behind.

Pierre Gasly added three points to his 2023 points haul after finishing in P8, crossing the line seven-tenths ahead of Lance Stroll.

Yuki Tsunoda, having replicated his teammate’s late stop for soft tyres finished in P10 with the fastest lap under his belt, taking home a very welcomed two points for AlphaTauri.

The grid will head straight to Mexico for the Mexico City Grand Prix, the second race in the current triple-header and notably back to the usual weekend format.

United States Grand Prix Results:

Download the full Formula 1 United States Grand Prix event guide HERE with track stats and facts and a full event schedule, plus our extensive driver profiles.

For more of the latest motorsport news, pick up the latest issue of AUTO ACTION or subscribe HERE

Latest podcast: It’s one with the lot!

We cover so much ground this week you would think we were on the amazing race. PG is ill so Andrew and Bruce go through the topics of the week and the sensor button gets another run.

Listen to our latest podcast episode here or on your podcast app of choice.