Race Review: US GP

If the US GP race weekend wasn’t crazy enough already, we had an interesting race that saw us on the edge of our seats for the last few laps.

Ricciardo started the weekend off right, rocking up to the paddock in full cowboy attire, and even doing a full interview in an American accent! We think he may like coming to Texas? Not too sure on that one though.

The drivers also took part in a basketball free-throw tournament on Thursday, to celebrate the 75th anniversary of NBA. Basketball legends like Chris Bosh and Dikembe Mutombo were on the side-lines to help the drivers-turned-basketball players, and it was Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll and Sebastian Vettel who won in the end. They received $20,000 to give to a charity of their choice, with which they chose the Ann Richards School for Young Women Leaders (a school in Austin dedicated to encouraging more girls into STEM education).

Remember at the very start of the season, when McLaren CEO Zak Brown and Daniel Ricciardo made a bet, that when he got his first podium, he would be allowed to drive Dale Earnhardts 1984 NASCAR which Brown now owns? Well, the Aussie got more than a podium, he got his first win with the team at Monza, and it was at COTA that he finally got to drive his childhood hero’s car around the circuit.

It wasn’t just the Honey Badger who had been roped into a bet though.

Every year, through the Grand Prix Trust, high-profile individuals from F1 (team bosses, drivers, engineers etc) get nominated to do something that terrifies them. This year, it was the turn of Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff to nominate someone, with whom he succinctly chose Zak Brown.

As Zak is not the biggest fan of needles, he saw fit for him to get a tattoo, and what a better way to celebrate his first win as CEO of McLaren by getting a tribute to the Monza circuit!

Nearly half the grid were also sporting new helmets for Austin. And after all the fun and games, it was time to go racing.

Free Practice

FP1 was a spinning paradise, with Fernando Alonso kicking the session off with a red flag after stopping his Alpine at Turn 12 due to fluids leaking from the car. After boxing and making it back out onto the track, he unfortunately suffered yet another hardship, losing the rear of the car at Turn 19.

Leclerc, Mazepin and Räikkönen all joined the spinners club, with Perez and Schumacher making contact into Turn 12.

The top 3 in the championship topped the timesheets, with Bottas fastest, followed by Hamilton and Verstappen.

It was announced that Russell and Vettel would be starting at the back of the grid due to taking new engines, with Bottas being handed a 5 place grid penalty after taking a 6th new internal combustion engine (ICE).

Max and Lewis were offering a bit of wheel-to-wheel action in FP2, the two going side by side down the pit straight. Maybe save the racing for Sunday, guys!

Another spin for Fernando Alonso at Turn 19 saw him hit the barriers and come into the pits for a once over.

Despite Lando Norris boxing for problems in his cockpit and later locking up at Turn 11, he posted a lap time good enough for P2, with Perez taking P1 and Hamilton P3.

If Fernando’s weekend wasn’t South enough already (quite literally, as they were racing in Texas!) he would be starting Sunday’s race at the back of the grid due to new power unit components.

FP3 saw some off track action from Bottas and Russell, who took a trip off at Turn 7 and Turn 5 respectively, and ended with Carlos Sainz in a Red Bull sandwich, with Perez taking P1 and Verstappen P3.

Coming into Austin, it’s important to note that Max has led more laps this season than all the other drivers combined, at a stunning 469 laps, compared to the rest of the grid at 465.

Mercedes have taken pole in Austin every year since 2014, and only 44% of pole sitters at the US GP go on to win the race. It’s fair to say that the odds were very much against Red Bull.

Only 6 points separated the top two, and with COTA being a Mercedes track, there was all to play for.

Qualifying

Qualifying saw shock exits from Aston Martin, with Stroll out in Q1, closely followed by Vettel out in Q2. Sebastian was also held up by one of the Haas cars on his flying lap in Q1.

Track limits were very much playing the devil this session, with lap times being deleted left, right and centre.

Hairline cracks on the Red Bull rear wings gave some pre-qualifying concerns to the team, however this didn’t seem to phase the drivers in the slightest, as they came out of qualifying in P1 and P3, with Max taking pole.

Perez, who had looked quick all weekend, took provisional pole, however it was the two championship contenders who were just that bit quicker, locking out the front row.

After penalties were applied, the starting grid was set:

P1 Verstappen, P2 Hamilton, P3 Perez, P4 Leclerc, P5 Sainz, P6 Ricciardo, P7 Norris, P8 Gasly, P9 Bottas, P10 Tsunoda, P11 Ocon, P12 Giovinazzi, P13 Stroll, P14 Latifi, P15 Räikkönen P16 Schumacher, P17 Mazepin, P18 Vettel, P19 Alonso, P20 Russell.

Race Day

Hamilton got a great start at lights out, and was inches ahead of Verstappen who went defensive from the off, pushing the Mercedes into the pit exit in a hope to hit the apex at Turn 1. Subsequently, Lewis was still ahead and pushed Max, who attempted to go round the outside, wide at Turn 1.

The two Canadians of Stroll and Latifi had a tussle at Turn 1, causing a brief yellow flag as the Williams just clipped the back of the Aston Martin.

Esteban Ocon didn’t get away lightly either, with one of the Alfa Romeos making contact with his front wing, causing damage. He then had to box for a new one, and his race started going downhill from there.

Not only are McLaren and Ferrari fighting for P3 in the Contructors’ Championship, they were also fighting on track, with Ricciardo, Sainz and Norris going three wide into one of the corners. The Aussie wasn’t going to give up that easily though, as he went round the outside of the Ferrari on the sequence of Turn 16,17 and 18 to take P5.

The Williams of Latifi was one of the first to box, and as he came out of the pits, nearly collided with Ocon’s Alpine.

The Red Bulls bit the bullet and pitted first on Lap 11, clearly going for the undercut on Mercedes, with Hamilton pitting just three laps later, emerging behind Max Verstappen.

Lap 16 saw Pierre Gasly pit after damage to his suspension, and it was game over for the Frenchman after he had to retire the car.

The veterans Räikkönen and Alonso were after some wheel-to-wheel racing as they made contact into Turn 1, with Alonso pushing the Finn wide. Kimi, however, managed to make the pass and took P13.

On Lap 20, Valtteri Bottas finally managed to make the pass on Yuki Tsunoda, with whom he had been stuck behind for quite some time.

Alonso was once again caught up in a battle with an Alfa Romeo, but this time it was Antonio Giovinazzi. The Spaniard hugely overshot the apex, and by overtaking him, had gained an advantage, therefore meaning he had to give the position back. This time it was the turn of the Italian, who went off track to overtake Alonso and once again had to allow him past.

Lap 28 saw a very brief Virtual Safety Car, as a steward headed on track to collect a piece of debris.

On Lap 30, Max pitted for his second stop, and it was clear that the Bulls were going for a long stint to the end of the race. Lewis pitted on Lap 38, and it was game on, as he had 19 laps to go and 8 seconds between him and the championship leader.

Esteban Ocon had to retire from the race on Lap 42 due to mechanical issues, meaning both Frenchmen were out of the race. His teammate Fernando Alonso would later retire on Lap 51 due to a rear wing issue, and it was clear that the US GP was not Alpine’s weekend.

Sainz and Ricciardo came together once again, as they touched on Lap 43, but the Spaniard couldn’t quite make the overtake.

The closing stages of the race were nigh, and it was all about the final showdown between Hamilton and Verstappen. Lewis was catching with every lap, but he was also just out of DRS with every lap.

Kimi Räikkönen went for a spin on Lap 52, but managed to keep his Alfa Romeo going.

Mick Schumacher was a key factor in this battle, as on Lap 55, was staying in the way of Max, meaning he was effectively in dirty air. Not what the Dutchman wanted, with Lewis closing in. However, Verstappen got DRS heading into the final lap, as he was lapping Mick, giving him just the advantage he needed.

Everyone needed a breather after that battle, with Max coming out on top only 1.3 seconds ahead of Lewis. Perez brought up the rear, coming in P3, 42 seconds behind Hamilton.

Sergio then shared that he had no water for the entire race! Finishing P3 in the sweltering Texan heat is a testament to his driving, with him later saying that he was starting to lose strength on Lap 20.

The US Grand Prix saw Red Bull’s 200th podium, with Lewis taking fastest lap.

Just 12 points separate Max and Lewis in the championship, and the next two races in Mexico and Brazil are definitely better suited to Red Bull. With 5 races still to go, it’s safe to say that this is going to go down to the wire!

The final grid lined up as follows:

P1 Verstappen, P2 Hamilton, P3 Perez, P4 Leclerc, P5 Ricciardo, P6 Bottas, P7 Sainz, P8 Norris, P9 Tsunoda, P10 Vettel, P11 Giovinazzi, P12 Stroll, P13 Räikkönen, P14 Russell, P15 Latifi, P16 Schumacher, P17 Mazepin, DNF Alonso, DNF Ocon, DNF Gasly

Driver of the Day: Perez

This goes to Sergio Perez, despite Verstappen winning the official F1 vote. Nothing screams teamwork more than Red Bull this season, with Perez putting up a great race to finish third. No water for the entire race, yet driving as he did is amazing, not to mention he looked really quick all weekend. Two podiums in a row, and the next race being his home GP? Checo seems to be on an upwards trajectory as we head into the closing stages of this season.

Biggest Crash: Alonso

Lots of spins this weekend at COTA, and Fernando took perhaps the biggest of all, heading into the gravel trap and then the barriers in FP2.

Overtake of the Day: Bottas on Stroll and Tsunoda

It was a frustrating race for Bottas, who was stuck behind the AlphaTauri and later the Ferrari of Carlos Sainz for much of the race. However, he took two in one into Turn 12, overtaking both Tsunoda and Stroll on Lap 19.

Biggest Heartbreak: Alonso

Once again, Fernando Alonso didn’t exactly have the weekend he wanted. Spinning in Free Practice 1 and 2, and starting at the back of Sunday’s grid set him up for an unfortunate race. After having some scraps with the Alfa Romeo boys, it just wasn’t meant to be after he retired with just 5 laps to go.

Best Team Radio: Alpine and Michael Masi

Alpine were not happy with Räikkönen’s pass on Alonso, and they voiced this quite openly to Michael Masi. The passive aggression was real, and it was definitely entertaining to hear Alpine argue their case! You can listen to the exchange here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kqmqtw4AnC4

Takeaways

We should not only be watching the fight between Red Bull and Mercedes, but also the fight between McLaren and Ferrari and Alpine and AlphaTauri! So many battles this late on in the season, Abu Dhabi will definitely be a season finale.

COTA had the potential for Mercedes to walk all over the rest of the field, the long straights suiting the Silver Arrows down to the ground. However, it was Red Bull who took the goods, finishing P1 and P3. With the next two races at high altitude, they’re definitely Red Bull tracks and it’ll be interesting to see whether they take the field by storm once again, or whether Mercedes have a few tricks up their sleeve.

Antonio Giovinazzi is definitely fighting for his future in F1, after racing aggressively with Fernando Alonso. You can see that he wants that seat desperately, but we’re yet to hear who will take up that second seat for 2022.

The US GP is always a fun one to watch, from Thursday right through until Sunday. With two races scheduled in the country next year, we can’t wait for both!