The US Grand Prix; A weekend of high temperatures, extreme pressure and vital championship points.
- Cassandra Nicholls
- Oct 23
- 4 min read
The US Grand Prix was a weekend of very unexpected results, especially the sprint race. With the McLaren pairing fighting for the championship, there was plenty of doors left open for their rivals. McLaren having a double DNF during the sprint race, by no fault of their own, allowed their biggest rival Max Verstappen to close the gap to both drivers by quite a lot. Ferrari was also able to gain essential points for their constructor title fight against Red Bull Racing and Mercedes.
Race Results:
As for the race, it was a high degradation for the tyres with most teams struggling on their strategy choice. Overall, it was the weekend for Max Verstappen, taking out not only the sprint race win, but also the main race as well. He was able to manage the tyres much better than his opponents and taking out an easy result, which was essential for his championship contention. He managed to gain an easy 33 points over the span of the weekend. Lando Norris managed to take out P2, which was also essential to the title fight against his teammate. He however had plenty of gain on the weekend after the sprint race DNF, he needed the points. He also had the difficulty of passing Charles Leclerc who ultimately would finish P3. It was the right tyre strategy and overall management that helped Leclerc finish on the final podium spot.
Lewis Hamilton managed to finish the weekend out strong with a P4 in both the sprint and the main race. His strategy was difficult to manage in the race, given finishing the race on a set of softs, but with his experience it was able to be done. Oscar Piastri had a similar weekend to teammate Norris, given the DNF in the sprint race, but managed to regain some points in the main race finishing P5. He was able to defend against other drivers around but struggled to keep up with the top 4 positions. Yuki Tsunoda had a great result finishing P7 in both the sprint race and the main race. He had a strong weekend with vital points and proving his capability as a driver. His defence against the likes of Oliver Bearman were also important to note for his overall results.
The Mercedes pairing of George Russell and Kimi Antonelli had a different weekend to the previous race. George was able to get major points in the sprint race with p2 and gaining 7 points, whilst Kimi received the last spot in the top 8 and gained 1 point. For the race itself, it was quieter for the duo, with George Russell finishing in P6, whilst Kimi Antonelli was unable to make it to the top 10, after an incident with Carlos Sainz reduced his chances, he went on to finish P13.
The remaining three in the top 10, had decent weekends with Nico Hulkenberg scoring his first points since his Silverstone podium. It was a brilliant drive from him, coming home to finish P8. P9 was Oliver Bearman and after the sprint race, he would be determined to perform as he was given a 10 second penalty in the sprint race which dropped him to the back of the grid. He drove great during the main race, even having a moment with Yuki Tsunoda halfway through. Finally, P10 was Fernando Alonso and like Bearman he had something to prove, given Aston Martins double DNF in the sprint race. He had a much cleaner race and was able to get a vital point for the team.
Their teammates were not necessarily able to provide points but still were helpful for the team. Gabriel Bortoleto unfortunately was stuck quite far at the back but still had some good battles between the alpine pairing, going on to finish P18. Esteban Ocon was desperate for a better result as well, given the DNF in the sprint, he could not gain any points but still had a good result overall. Ocon would finish P15. Lance Stroll had a quiet weekend and wanted to perform for the team and himself. He was extremely close to getting into the top 10 but just did not have the pace to keep up with those ahead of him. He finished just behind his teammate and Racing Bulls driver, Liam Lawson, finishing P12.
The Racing Bulls pairing unfortunately had a weekend to forget, with both drivers outside the top 10 in the sprint race as well as the main race. They had a very difficult time with getting stuck in battles with other drivers, to just being unable to keep up with those around them. Liam Lawson was able to finish in P11, whilst Isack Hadjar finished in P16. Alpine was another team with a bad result, especially with Franco Colapinto who felt he could not keep behind teammate Pierre Gasly, both drivers had a tough result. Franco Colapinto finished in P17, and teammate Pierre Gasly in P19.
Finally, our last duo, Williams. Their sprint race was great, with both drivers scoring points for the team. Carlos Sainz managed to finish in P3, whilst teammate Alex Albon finished in P6. However, they had a tough race with Carlos Sainz with a DNF after his incident with Kimi Antonelli. This incident will also cost him this weekend in Mexico as a 5-place grid penalty. Before that, he was doing well with pace and keeping up to the pack. Alex Albon was stuck in the middle of the grid and just unable to make a break for the top 10. He later went on to finish P14.
This weekend, we head back to Mexico for the Mexican Grand Prix. This is a high-altitude track, so cars may be tough to drive. Some teams may find this easier, whilst others may struggle. We will also see 9 reserve drivers in the seats for the Free Practice One. This includes Pato O’Ward (McLaren), Frederik Vesti (Mercedes), Antonio Fuoco (Ferrari), Arvid Lindblad (Red Bull), Luke Browning (Williams), Jak Crawford (Aston Martin), Ryo Hirakawa (Haas), Ayumu Iwasa (Racing Bulls) and Paul Aron (Alpine).
Comments