Ten seconds of handicap are not enough to stop Max Verstappen. The world champion took victory number twelve of the current season in Austin, the seventh in the last eight races. Without the unexpected pit stop, caused by a faulty pistol, we would have seen a solitary escape, with the Red Bull number 1 slowing down in the last ten laps and managing the tires to the checkered flag.
But the script was different, and when Max suddenly found himself having to rebuild the race, we saw a bad radio team (“Wonderful”, referring to the pit stop) and a great driver who had to roll up his sleeves to go and resume the first position. That the Red Bull is the best single-seater of 2022 is already written in the golden books of the season, that the top speed of the RB18 is frightening when it is in the DRS area as well, but Max has still given his part, completing two overtakes , on Leclerc and Hamilton, with the touch of the champion.
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB18, comes out of the pits
Photo by: Steven Tee / Motorsport Images
In the end, a success arrived that Red Bull will not forget, both because it made the conquest of the Constructors’ World Championship official and for the special dedication to Dietrich Mateschitz, who passed away yesterday. Christian Horner’s tears and Helmut Marko’s presence on the podium were indicative of a very intense afternoon for the whole team. Sergio Perez, fourth on the finish line, also joined the team under the podium for the celebrations that saw mixed happiness and contrasting emotions.
Red Bull is World Constructors Champion for the fifth time, and doesn’t seem willing to give up anything in the last three remaining stages on the calendar. For this reason, both the place of honor conquered by Hamilton and the third position of Leclerc are important placements. Both did not show great enthusiasm on the podium, even though it was a result they would have hoped for on the eve of the weekend, and this is because at a certain point in the race both Charles and Lewis had the illusion of being able to aim for victory.
Hamilton came very close to it, losing the first position only six laps to go, but his leadership was immediately at great risk when Verstappen showed the pace he could keep after the second stop. It was only a matter of time, and Lewis sold out by trying the impossible to keep Red Bull behind. Ten laps earlier, Leclerc also found himself in the same situation, and the epilogue was identical.
Pierre Gasly, AlphaTauri AT03, Charles Leclerc, Ferrari F1-75, Alex Albon, Williams FW44
Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images
For Charles, third place is still a precious result, matured thanks to a race in which Ferrari did not seem to accuse particular problems of thermal degradation of the tires (the big question of the eve) and in which Leclerc caught the joker of the pit stop. under the safety car which gave him a good hand in the comeback started from the twelfth position occupied at the start.
With fifteen points from third place, Leclerc moved back to second position in the general classification (with two points ahead of Perez), also saving the stage spoils of Ferrari, which found itself orphaned by Carlos Sainz after a few hundred meters from the start. The Spaniard was not the author of a good start, nullifying the pole position, but this does not mean that you have to be rammed at the first corner by a Mercedes.
Russell’s mistake was gross, and the penalty imposed on him ambiguous. The five seconds seem too long, if we consider what happened an unintentional and unfortunate circumstance, and few if we evaluate the maneuver of Mercedes number 63 as guilty of having ended Sainz’s race. But these days it is better not to throw fuel on the FIA fire, at the end of the race Russell admitted the mistake, publicly apologizing to Carlos. It’s already time to pack your bags for Mexico.
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