Americas GP
The arrival of the American Grand Prix after Verstappen’s conquest of the championship title opens the list of candidates for victory at the Texas track
After the exciting end of the 2021 Formula 1 season, the early resolution of this 2022 has been somewhat anticlimactic. Fighting for the title until the last lap, literally, Verstappen has authoritatively conquered his two-time championship with four races to go. The Dutchman can take it relatively easy, since he only aims to increase his numbers and little else.
That does not mean that the World Cup has nothing to solve. In the pilots chapter, four opt for the runner-up. It is by no means the favorite dish on the menu, but in the absence of good homemade beans, some from the jar are well worth it. Charles Leclerc, Sergio Pérez, George Russell and Carlos Sainz mathematically opt to finish second, although it is the Monegasque from Ferrari and the Mexican from Red Bull who start with a serious advantage. The fight between the two promises to be dog-fight in the remaining races, since only one point separates them. Predictably, the energy drinks team will focus all their efforts on helping their driver achieve this goal, given that in the Constructors’ World Championship they have it practically in their hands: they only need a double in Austin and they will win the manufacturers’ crown.
The one with the worst numbers to win world silver is Carlos Sainz. He said it a few races ago: his objective was no longer to finish at the top of the championship, since he is aware that he has fewer options, but a good result would not only give wings to his candidacy to break the total dominance of Red Bull, but also a key morale boost. After a reasonably good 2021 for his Ferrari debut, 2022 has not been as optimal as he hoped, although the historic victory at Silverstone confirmed him as a driver who knows how and when to win given the circumstances.
Sainz has been one of the riders who has been harmed by the change in regulations. The man from Madrid had never felt so bad at the wheel of a Formula 1, much less had he seen himself so far away from his teammate. On average, he estimates, Charles Leclerc has taken two tenths per lap. Looking at the numbers, it’s something else. “I had to change the way he drove completely, in a very unnatural way. I had to change to an unnatural form and make it natural, which takes a long time », he explained in the days before the Austin appointment.
Now you have to confirm that you already have a grasp of the new handling that these cars require. The fight for the podiums has become the day to day of the Spaniard, but he knows little about it. Who tastes the champagne at the top of the drawer does not get used to anything else.
Alonso, with Ocon in the spotlight
The blue and pink is becoming increasingly green on the horizon of Fernando Alonso. The Asturian is already fed up with the swerves in the management of Alpine, but he still has four races left in which to stoically endure his presence in the Anglo-French team. The relationship has become remarkably rare, and his partner Esteban Ocon has done nothing to solve it: quite the opposite.
Therefore, Alonso has him between eyebrows. There are 13 points between the two, which is a negligible difference seen what has been seen. After Ocon achieved his best result of the year with a fourth place in Japan, Alonso is clear that he must turn the score around if he wants to shut his mouth and prevent him from becoming one of the few drivers to finish a season ahead of the. Alpine is going to release this weekend an evolution of the floor of its single-seater that gave such good data in Singapore and, above all, in Suzuka, so they hope to be one step ahead. In its fight with McLaren, the French team has taken some air but they cannot be trusted if they want to continue being the best of the rest.
This weekend’s schedules will not be for all audiences. After the rain that fell in the Japanese GP 15 days ago, Pirelli has asked for an extra half hour in free practice this Friday, so they will finish at 1:30 in the morning. In the same way, the classification on Saturday will be at 1, but on Sunday it will not be necessary to stay up much: at the latest, the race will end around 11:00 p.m. (Spanish peninsular time).
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