Max verstappen doubles his margin in the drivers’ championship after winning the United States GP. The Dutchman gets 12 points in his pocket in Austin, on a track that on paper must have been to the advantage of Mercedes. In Texas the championship balance could have been broken, with a season that turns decisively in favor of Red Bull and the Dutch driver who, in addition to having an innate and natural speed, reveals hidden skills as a strategist (he also recommended the strategy for Perez to play a two-pronged tactic). Max built an extraordinary success without fear of the comeback that Lewis Hamilton tried to build after the second pit stop.
Verstappen has collected the eighth victory of the season (the 18th in his career) giving a proof of great maturity despite his young age. Max was surprised at the start by the first shot of the Mercedes and Hamilton did not think for a moment to accompany the Red Bull off the track.
The orange did not get nervous, counting on the fact that the RB16B seemed to have something more than the black arrow, especially in the management of the tires. And with an early pit stop on lap 10 Max took the lead, taking control of the race. Mercedes did not respond immediately (Lewis stopped on lap 13), but it seemed clear that the race was clearly in Red Bull’s favor.
The strategists of Milton Keynes replicate the advance of the stop on lap 28, surprising the Mercedes who decides to lengthen the stint of the champion epta to reserve the freshest tires in the last frame of the race. Brackley’s simulations gave the rejoining with three laps to go, while Verstappen was able to do a good tire management without pulling the RB16B to reserve some rubber for what could have been a high tension final which, instead, there wasn’t.
Hamilton never got to take advantage of the DRS because Max was able to react by making his best performances in the closing beats, giving the clear feeling that he was controlling the pace so as not to encounter any surprises. The blow was strong and clearly visible on the disappointed face of Hamilton who took the fastest lap (1’38 “485) on lap 41 during the comeback.
Mercedes suffered the supremacy of Red Bull who also brought Sergio Perez to the podium: the Mexican finished 40 seconds behind his team mate because he went into obvious physical crisis due to being dehydrated from not being able to drink during the race.
Ferrari remains off the podium, but Charles Leclerc has confirmed the consistency of Ferrari which claims the role of third force among the Constructors having gnawed another four points to McLaren which is fifth with Daniel Ricciardo and eighth with Lando Norris.
The Monegasque exploited the full potential of the Red on a track that was not ideal for the SF21: the leap in quality is indisputable with the adoption of the new hybrid. Carlos Sainz could also have been alongside Leclerc, but the Spaniard was penalized by having to start with soft tires (he was the only one together with Yuki Tsunoda, excellent ninth with the AlphaTauri). In reality, Carlos had to deal with slow pit stops that ruined what he had done on the track and seventh place does not pay off for the consistent race.
The opaque Valtteri Bottas, who started ninth after the penalty for unmarking engine 6, had promised to return to the podium area and, instead, did not go beyond a disappointing sixth place. Brackley’s engine management was inadequate, especially as two appointments are now arriving that should be favorable to Red Bull.
The points area is closed by Sebastian Vettel with Aston Martin ahead of tough Antonio Giovinazzi still 11th and still served to Kimi Raikkonen. To remember the double retreat of the Alpines due to the yielding of the rear wings on the bumps of the snake. F1 gave 140,000 spectators another thrilling spectacle: Americans are also falling in love with F1 …
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