A slap on the wheel, a long sigh and the shaking of the helmet. Lewis Hamilton’s body language after stopping his car in front of the “P2” sign under the Austin podium said a lot.
A driver who has seven world titles in his pocket, and one hundred Grands Prix won, is undoubtedly capable of sniffing the air, of picking up signals, and what Hamilton heard after Austin’s arrival was nothing pleasant.
The one suffered in the United States Grand Prix is not just a stage defeat, even if alone it would be enough to make Hamilton and Mercedes’ afternoon not the best. There is more, and it was understood even without words.
Hamilton and Mercedes did their best, from starting to race management, but Red Bull and Max Verstappen were simply faster today. The margin that separated the two stars of the world championship under the checkered flag (1 ”333) does not faithfully reflect the values on the pitch, due to an unexpected event that required a change in the plans of the Red Bull strategists.
The unexpected circumstance was the departure, which saw Hamilton (author of the best start of the season) able to take the lead at the first corner.
The first stint confirmed a much faster pace than the Red Bull, but while Verstappen managed to stay in Hamilton’s slipstream for a full ten laps, he never had a real chance to try the attack. At that point, the Red Bull strategists took a risky decision, much anticipating the first pit stop, which took place on lap 11.
With the easiest of the undercuts Verstappen became the leader of the race, but in the Red Bull garage the tension did not ease, because after 18 laps covered with the hard Max set he informed the team that the rear tires were now finished, returning in the pits on lap 39.
The analysis of the technicians confirmed that the tires were indeed on the canvas, and at that point the alarm went off: would Max be able to complete the final 27 laps with the second set of hard?
“I really didn’t think he was going to make it – confirmed Horner after the race – Lewis had eight laps cooler. The key was how Max handled the last set, he did an amazing job. “
The United States Grand Prix was the umpteenth episode of a season that lives on the comparison of two extraordinary talents, belonging to different generations, as different are the palmares, but in fact very close in their pursuit of a common goal.
Hamilton was exemplary in his inability to accept a verdict that was written on the technical front, Max in being able to field a test of maturity that looks so much like a graduation exam.
The Dutchman waited for Hamilton to get close to two seconds, trying to save every gram of rubber possible, then pushed when it was time to do it, that is, in the last seven laps, without ever allowing his opponent to enter the DRS zone.
The celebrations in the Red Bull garage following Verstappen’s passage under the checkered flag were indicative of the satisfaction at having hit a crucial milestone from a global perspective.
Austin was, on paper, a Mercedes track, and in footballing terms Max’s success can be considered an away win. The advantage over Lewis has now risen to twelve points, but it is not so much this data (however important) that gives confidence to Red Bull and Verstappen, as the importance of this fact in perspective.
Now in the sights are the tracks of Mexico City and Sao Paulo, two Red Bull fiefdoms, and for Max they will not be a chance to recover, but a great opportunity to stretch. To do it it has everything,
because after beating Mercedes in Austin there is no longer a track on which Verstappen will have to play in defense.
If he does, it will be, just to protect himself against the only scenario that can still shake Max’s certainties, namely technical reliability. For the rest, all the obstacles now seem to be behind him.
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