Ferrari dominance, Leclerc dominated the US Grand Prix. Norris loses podium after controversial duel with Verstappen

The United States Grand Prix at the Circuit of the Americas was dominated by the red cars from Ferrari. Charles Leclerc scored his third win of the season ahead of teammate Carlos Sainz. The end of the grand prix took a controversial turn after Max Verstappen and Lando Norris got into a fierce battle late in the race. The British driver was eventually handed a five-second penalty that sent him past the World Championship leader at the finish, who also has important points in the title fight.

• Charles Leclerc triumphs in the US Grand Prix, Ferrari double completed by Carlos Sainz
• The controversial end to the race saw Max Verstappen and Lando Norris clash, with the latter losing his podium position to a penalty
• British driver’s title challenge becomes more difficult as he takes 57 points lead after the race

This year’s Formula One season has entered its final part with the US Grand Prix. The nineteenth event was hosted by the Circuit of the Americas near the Texas city of Austin, which welcomed the Queen of Motorsport for the first time in 2012. The 5.5km long track consists of several technically diverse sections, most of which have taken inspiration from other famous circuits around the world.

Not only did F1 fans wait almost a month from the Singapore GP for the next grand prix, there was no race weekend for almost four whole days, peppered with the added bonus of a sprint programme. Saturday’s short race, however, outlined the return to winning waves of MS leader Max Verstappen. He dominated the sprint in style-finish ahead of Carlos Sainz and main title rival Lando Norris.

However, Norris made up for it in the big qualifying session later in the day by taking pole position. Verstappen, however, saw himself right next to him on the front row of the grid for Sunday’s race. By contrast, both Mercedes drivers qualified deep in the back. Lewis Hamilton blew the opening segment of qualifying, from which he didn’t even advance, and George Russell crashed in Q3. A subsequent necessary rule violation to repair the car sent the Brit to the pits for the start.

Traditionally aggressive start for Verstappen, safety car back on the scene

For Lando Norris, the joke is on his largely unsuccessful starts, of which he has had several throughout the season. At the same time, Verstappen’s first corner is either exceptionally hard defensive after starting from pole, or exceptionally hard offensive after starting from outside the field. The latter was confirmed after the red lights went out.

Norris didn’t cover the left side of the track sufficiently on the climb, which unsurprisingly Verstappen capitalised on. Both drivers lost speed on the exit and Charles Leclerc squeaked into the lead from fourth on the grid. Verstappen moved up to second, but Norris dropped back to fourth. Further back there was the expected squeeze, with Esteban Ocon coming off worst after a spin by Alexander Albon.

The action did not let up on the first lap of the race. Sainz sensed an opportunity and sent his Ferrari under Verstappen’s red bull into turn twelve. However, it was a manoeuvre that sent the pair well off the track, especially Verstappen. Sainz correctly then let the Dutchman pass him back, but a lap later the Spaniard continued to look for a way back into second position.

The hectic opening was interrupted by the cameras picking up Hamilton, who sank his Mercedes at turn 19. It was the first time since the Canadian GP in June that the safety car had almost gone. The subsequent restart on lap six was saved by Leclerc, despite Verstappen’s brilliant reactions. Not only that, the Monegasque immediately jumped out of the DRS firing position.

Leclerc drives off into the distance, McLaren takes a risk with a one-stop strategy

A few minutes after the restart, a third Sainz was announcing a nervous tone in his voice as he reported a fuel leak in the cockpit. But the potentially fatal problem was briskly resolved by Ferrari. While Kuan-yu Zhou was recovering at the back of the field after a clock at the first corner, Leclerc’s rapid pace saw him surge into a lead of over five seconds on Verstappen around lap thirteen.

The race’s progress had traditionally calmed down and the teams and drivers bridged their focus to the upcoming first pit stops. This opening episode of tyre changes was kicked off on lap eighteen by Kevin Magnussen, who by then was circling in a solid seventh place. Meanwhile, Russell received a five-second penalty for sending Valtteri Bottas into the paddock, although he held his own for two laps after his manoeuvre.

Sainz was the first of the top drivers to head to the mechanics, on lap 22. The Ferrari driver’s rapid pace on the new hard tyres forced Red Bull to leave Verstappen on track for the time being.

His opening stint continued until lap 26, while leader Leclerc stopped immediately afterwards. This put Norris in the lead for a few laps with teammate Piastri behind him. McLaren’s decisions thus likely flirted with the unforeseen strategy of a single pit stop.

Norris held on to the medium specification until lap 31. Before that, Leclerc, on the newer white marked tyres, had no problem getting ahead of his teammate Piastri. The Australian also visited the pits after losing second position, a lap after Norris. The second part of the race thus saw a provisional Ferrari double with Verstappen ahead of a pair of papaya-coloured cars.

Thrilling duel between Verstappen and Norris, penalty decides third position

The delayed pit stop at least gave McLaren, and Norris in particular, a chance to pull closer to the rivals ahead. The second man overall was chasing Verstappen by a few tenths a lap after his own stop. By lap 40 or so, however, the gap between them had settled to just over two seconds. At the front, however, the Ferraris were dictating the pace and driving towards a surprise double victory.

However, once the aforementioned lead stopped shrinking, Norris took over and entered the possibility of activating the DRS on lap 44. While nothing troubled Ferrari, Norris was troubled by the defensive extravagance of Verstappen, who managed to defend any hints of an attack every lap.

The British driver’s final attack lasted perhaps too long, taking him until lap 52 to arrive at Turn 12 using DRS ahead of Verstappen. Whereupon, however, he spotted a sun-flashing red bull on his left-hand side, which Norris rounded far outside the legal circuit boundaries. If not that, the 24-year-old Bristol native lined up ahead of the three-time champion on arrival on the tarmac.

After a series of indirect argumentative exchanges between the two drivers and their teams, the race directors’ verdict resulted in a five-second penalty for Norris for leaving the track and gaining a lingering advantage. This controversial incident was slightly overshadowed by the Ferrari double and Leclerc’s quality triumph over teammate Sainz.

Verstappen inherited third place after Norris’ penalty and increased his lead at the head of the championship to 57 points. Piastri rounded out the Top 5 ahead of Russell, who held off Sergio Pérez at the end. Also taking points from Austin were rookies Liam Lawson and Franco Colapinto.

USA Formula One Grand Prix results (Race 19/24, 56 laps = 308.405 km; top 10 only):

1. Charles Leclerc (Mon., Ferrari) 1:35:09.639
2. Carlos Sainz (Sp., Ferrari) +8.562
3. Max Verstappen (Niz., Red Bull) +19.412
4. Lando Norris (Brit., McLaren) +20.354
5. Oscar Piastri (Aus., McLaren) +21.921
6. George Russell (Brit., Mercedes) +56.295
7. Sergio Pérez (Mex., Red Bull) +59.072
8. Nico Hülkenberg (Ger., Haas) +1:02.957
9. Liam Lawson (N. Ze., RB) +1:10.563
10. Franco Colapinto (Arg., Williams) +1:11.979

2024 Formula One Drivers’ Standings (after Race 19/24; top 10 only):

1. Max Verstappen (Niz., Red Bull) 354 points
2. Lando Norris (Brit., McLaren) 297
3. Charles Leclerc (Mon., Ferrari) 275
4. Oscar Piastri (Aus., McLaren) 247
5. Carlos Sainz (Span., Ferrari) 215
6. Lewis Hamilton (Brit., Mercedes) 177
7. George Russell (Brit., Mercedes) 167
8. Sergio Pérez (Mex., Red Bull) 150
9. Fernando Alonso (Spain, Aston Martin) 62
10. Nico Hülkenberg (Ger., Haas) 29

Sources: F1, X