F1 | US GP | Race | Verstappen back in the Championship fight after bringing home victory - Motorsport

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The paddock returned to the Circuit of the Americas for the F1 US GP Race. Max Verstappen had dominated the weekend to that point: he secured Sprint pole, won the dash for a third successive year, and then claimed Grand Prix pole despite being unable to start a second flying lap in Q3.

Having won two of the previous four races and finished runner-up in the other two, he was in irresistible form, and he had trimmed eight points from Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri the day before.

Verstappen led the field away on the formation lap, climbing the long rise to the notorious Turn 1. He looked intent on carving out a buffer into that first corner to keep clear of any chaos. Norris tucked in behind; his Sprint launch had been poor, which handed his team-mate a sniff of an overtake — and we all knew how that ended. The remainder of the grid filtered through in order.

Lights out!

Verstappen made another strong getaway, but Charles Leclerc came out swinging. He ran deep into Turn 1 and swept past Norris. Behind them, Piastri launched superbly and bravely threaded the needle between George Russell and Lewis Hamilton; he cleared Russell but had to concede to Hamilton, who held the racing line. Verstappen led from Leclerc and Norris.

Yellow flags appeared soon after, as Alex Albon had dropped to the back of the pack.

Yuki Tsunoda had climbed into the top 10 after starting 13th, while Alonso lost out off the line and slipped to P12. Verstappen was already more than a second clear of Leclerc, with Norris locked onto the Ferrari’s rear. Piastri was pressuring Hamilton as well.

The fiercest pressure fell on Ollie Bearman, with Carlos Sainz glued to the Haas’s rear wing. Sainz dove up the inside at Turn 1 and Bearman had to yield. Replays showed Albon had been sent into a spin after contact with Gabriel Bortoleto, explaining why he remained detached from the back of the train.

Up front, Verstappen’s advantage continued to grow; it stretched to 1.7s.

Virtual Safety Car out during F1 US GP Race

Norris shadowed Leclerc but could not prise the Ferrari out of the way, while Piastri faced the same problem with Hamilton’s medium-tyred Mercedes. Both McLarens enjoyed DRS, yet tyre wear threatened to bite before any move could stick.

Moments later, yellow flags waved. Antonelli faced the wrong way and Sainz looked to be involved, with Russell narrowly avoiding Piastri in the scramble. Replays showed Sainz lunging down the inside at Turn 15 and clipping the Mercedes, spinning the teenager . On first viewing Sainz did not appear to have sufficient overlap. The Williams retired on the spot; Antonelli gathered it up and continued, but dropped to last place.

Albon switched out his hard tyres for a set of mediums while the VSC stayed in place, with Race Control noting the Sainz–Antonelli clash.

Back racing

When the VSC ended, the F1 US GP Race sprang back to life. Verstappen led by just under three seconds from Leclerc, who likely welcomed the breather to cool his softs. Norris still sat ahead of Hamilton and Piastri, the latter having lost around half a second during the neutralisation.

The collision had lifted Nico Hülkenberg and Alonso into the top 10. Tsunoda ran seventh, albeit a fair distance behind Russell. For the moment, none of the top six had DRS.

Verstappen looked in complete control. He had stretched the gap to four seconds over Leclerc, safely beyond the undercut. After cooling his tyres, Norris found renewed pace and set about dragging himself back into DRS range of the Ferrari.

On lap 15, Norris was back fighting. The McLaren driver had reeled Leclerc in and dipped back inside the DRS window.

Verstappen extends his lead

Verstappen ticked off another lap while the fight behind him erupted. Leclerc and Norris ran side-by-side from Turn 12 through to 19. Norris tried the long way around, Leclerc edged him wide; Norris switched back, Leclerc covered it. It stayed clean and within the lines.

Leclerc’s stout defence let Verstappen disappear up the road, the margin swelling past six seconds. Norris then eased off, which drew Hamilton towards the duel, while Piastri slipped well away from the Ferrari ahead — inviting Russell to fancy a shot at fifth.

Recharged, Norris latched back onto Leclerc’s Ferrari, but the Monégasque still refused to yield. His softs, though, looked increasingly frayed, and with others, Bortoleto included, already ditching theirs.

Norris bites back

Norris was the sole runner in the top ten with DRS, yet he sat eight-tenths adrift. Earlier, his best shot had come from four-tenths. He reeled Leclerc in again, showed the nose, then swept to the outside, only for the Ferrari to shut it down with tidy, uncompromising defence.

Hamilton could not quite live with their pace; at 1.6s back he appeared to be thinking long game. Deeper in the pack, Antonelli set about the rebuild after his spin, rising to 16th and latching onto Ocon’s DRS.

Pit wall strategy remained on ice. Norris even sold a dummy at the pit entry but stayed out and was promptly shown the black-and-white flag for track limits, one strike from a penalty. Undeterred, he lined it up again and, with a huge tow down the back straight, finally swept around the outside into Turn 12. This time it stuck, and Leclerc had nothing to return fire with on the exit.

Verstappen leads Norris by 10.8s

Verstappen had established a commanding lead of 10.8 seconds over Norris. Attention shifted to the longevity of the McLaren driver’s rubber, though he benefited from an unobstructed track ahead. Meanwhile, reports filtered through that Piastri had been deliberately managing his tyres, opting for a more patient approach.

Adding to the drama, Norris voiced his frustration regarding the black and white flag that had been shown to him.

Ferrari’s internal battle

The team declined to intervene in the scrap between their drivers, leaving Hamilton trailing Leclerc despite running the medium compound against his teammate’s softer tyres. Hamilton attempted to force his way through, but the team then instructed Leclerc to pit.

The timing proved costly for Hamilton, who surrendered valuable seconds whilst battling a driver who was about to stop regardless. Leclerc fitted a set of mediums during his stop.

At that turn, the Monégasque remained the sole leading contender to have visited the pit lane, though this reflected his unique position as the only driver in the top ten to have started on softs. He rejoined the circuit three seconds behind Hülkenberg, who occupied eighth place and looked capable of scoring after his disappointing Sprint performance.

The other F1 US GP frontrunners had failed to improve their positions on the preceding tour. Leclerc overtook Hülkenberg.

An alternative strategy for Verstappen

Red Bull instructed Verstappen to extend his stint if possible, as they were considering an “alternative strategy.” Suspicions grew that everyone who had begun the race on mediums would attempt a single-stop approach, switching to softs. This marked a stark contrast to the opening laps, when tyre degradation had appeared severe and a two-stop strategy had seemed probable. The shift came as drivers collectively sought to avoid running the hard compound.

Regarding pit stops, Pierre Gasly had experienced a painfully slow service due to a problematic wheel.

Tsunoda offered no resistance, allowing Leclerc to sweep through into sixth position. It proved a sensible decision, particularly as Tsunoda headed straight into the pit lane for soft tyres.

Tsunoda possessed the ability to extract remarkable performance from his tyres when focused, though it appeared Red Bull were also utilising their driver to gather data that would inform Verstappen’s strategic decisions.

Piastri came in for softs, with the crew completing a 2.3-second service. The move became clear, McLaren wanted to neutralise Russell and counter the undercut threat.

He emerged back on circuit in seventh position, slotting in behind Hülkenberg.

Pit stops incoming

Norris drove into the pit lane for his stop, also taking on softs. However, the pit stop proved slightly sluggish at 3.8 seconds for the McLaren driver. He rejoined ahead of Hamilton but behind Leclerc, though crucially, his tyres were ten laps fresher. Leclerc remained the outlier on mediums whilst the other leading drivers had all opted for softs.

The race leader then made his pit visit. Verstappen’s crew delivered a respectable 2.6-second stop, with Russell following him in immediately afterwards. Verstappen maintained his lead as Russell received his service, which took 2.3 seconds.

Notably, Russell rejoined a considerable distance behind Piastri.

With the pit stop cycle complete, Verstappen led the field from Leclerc, Norris, Hamilton and Piastri. However, yellow flags were deployed for Bearman, who had spun whilst engaged in combat with Tsunoda.

The footage revealed that Bearman had committed to a late dive down the inside, strayed onto the grass, and subsequently lost control. Remarkably, Tsunoda managed to avoid the spinning Haas.

The provisional top 10

On lap 36 of the F1 US GP Race, Verstappen controlled proceedings at the front with a 6.7-second gap back to Leclerc in second. The Ferrari driver found Norris breathing down his neck, the McLaren just 1.7 seconds adrift. Hamilton occupied fourth but had fallen well off the pace of the leaders, whilst Piastri and Russell circulated with significant gaps between them further back.

Tsunoda ran seventh, having moved ahead of Hülkenberg, with Bearman slipping to ninth behind the German after his moment. Albon held tenth ahead of Alonso, courtesy of his earlier stop, though another pit visit appeared inevitable.

The crowd had been treated to a superb scrap between Norris and Leclerc during the opening stages, and another helping of wheel-to-wheel action between the pair looked imminent.

The McLaren driver stalked the Ferrari at 1.3 seconds, armed with soft compound tyres. Leclerc pressed on with mediums that had already completed 14 laps.

Albon’s second stop duly arrived, promoting Fernando Alonso into the points. Bortoleto received a black and white flag from the stewards. This carried added significance for Norris, who had already been shown one – any further track limits infringement would result in a five-second penalty.

The battle for P2 at the F1 US GP Race

On track, Norris closed to within eight tenths of Leclerc. The battle provided excellent entertainment and carried Championship implications, particularly with Piastri languishing in fifth.

The difference between second and third amounted to three additional points for Norris, providing substantial motivation for the McLaren driver.

However, trouble emerged when Norris reported over the radio that his tyres had deteriorated. The tyres had only accumulated 14 laps of running, but he’d been forced to fit an older set of softs that already carried six laps of wear. He found himself unable to close back to within a few tenths of the Ferrari.

Norris backed off from Leclerc to manage the temperature of his tyres, opening the gap to 1.3 seconds and affording the Ferrari driver some respite.

At the front, Verstappen continued to nurse his tyres rather than extending his advantage, ensuring his softs would survive until the chequered flag. He maintained a lead approaching seven seconds as he edged closer to his third victory in the previous four Grands Prix.

The cameras captured Norris’ struggles, his car sliding through corners as a row of blisters began forming on his front left tyre.

Norris struggles further

Norris’ difficulties had intensified considerably. He was genuinely losing ground. Leclerc had stretched the advantage to 2.4 seconds and appeared entirely comfortable on his medium compound tyres. The Ferrari driver even held the luxury of monitoring Verstappen ahead, should the Dutchman’s softs begin to deteriorate towards the finish.

Lance Stroll enjoyed DRS assistance in his chase of Liam Lawson for 11th position. The pair remained the sole drivers engaged in close combat, both hoping to capitalise should misfortune strike those running ahead.

Down in fifth, Piastri simply wasn’t competitive. He had endured a difficult weekend throughout and appeared unable to find harmony with his machinery in Austin. He would be hoping for improved fortunes in Mexico, as the current situation threatened to reduce his Championship advantage to just 17 points.

Norris began edging back towards Leclerc in their contest for second place. The duo had delivered substantial wheel-to-wheel action throughout the afternoon.

Further down the order, Lawson and Stroll closed right up behind Alonso in the battle for the final Championship point.

Can Norris catch up to Leclerc?

Norris reduced the gap to just 1.1 seconds behind Leclerc, positioning himself to regain DRS assistance within another lap. The prospect tantalised, though questions remained about how much performance remained in those soft tyres. Leclerc’s mediums had covered 26 laps, whilst Norris’ softs had accumulated 22 laps of use.

Further back, Russell chipped away at Piastri’s tail, reducing his gap to 2.9 seconds.

Verstappen’s lead expanded as Leclerc shifted from attacking mode to defensive duties, a consequence of Norris acquiring DRS.

Norris opted for Turn 1 rather than his preferred Turn 12 overtaking spot. He arrived with considerable speed but struggled to hit the apex cleanly. Leclerc defended masterfully. However, Norris closed right up through to Turn 11, where he committed to the move and completed the pass into Turn 12! Norris secured P2 for the meantime.

A battle for Alpine

Colapinto circulated in 18th, with Gasly occupying 17th. Despite their lowly positions, both remained racers at heart, and Colapinto fought for pride and his Formula 1 future. He attempted to find a way past his teammate, who mounted a superb defence. Colapinto possessed the fresher rubber, but the Argentine received team orders instructing him to maintain positions.

Colapinto disregarded the instruction to hold still, launching a bold dive down the inside into Turn 1. He forced Gasly wide but left just sufficient space to avoid contact. The Argentine emerged ahead on lap 55.

The final stages of the F1 US GP Race

At the front, Verstappen sailed towards a comfortable F1 US GP Race triumph. Further back, the tail-enders scrapped for dignity. Bortoleto added his name to the list of drivers overtaking Gasly, whose older soft tyres had surrendered their performance.

Verstappen delivered victory for Red Bull. The Dutchman had swept both pole positions and both races, demonstrating complete superiority. He added a fourth Circuit of the Americas win to his tally.

Hamilton’s race unravelled with a slow puncture in the closing stages. Piastri charged towards the stricken Mercedes, drawing level as they approached the chequered flag but falling agonisingly short.

Norris never threatened Verstappen for the win, having lost crucial time trapped behind Leclerc early on, though he executed two successful overtakes on the Ferrari during the race.

The McLaren driver banked 18 points, with Piastri scoring 10 for fifth. Hamilton squeezed between them in fourth, nursing his wounded car across the line. Russell claimed sixth, followed by Tsunoda, Hülkenberg, Bearman and Alonso.