One of the most desired moments for a Formula 1 driver is to verify that, indeed, your team has given you one of the best cars on the grid. A chassis with which to fight for the title. It is something that the majority, 90%, of the drivers who come through this sport are not usually lucky enough to experience. But this also has a double reading because if you don’t take advantage of the opportunity you will immediately be singled out. And this happens to Lando Norris, who has the best car on the grid and does not dominate the races as he should. He lacks aggressiveness, control, consistency… and you can’t show this to a beast like the current champion.
At the start, Norris failed again. He started from pole and not only Verstappen “stole” his wallet, but also Leclerc and Sainz. Those from Ferrari took advantage of the clash between the Red Bull and the McLaren and the Monegasque took the lead. The Madrid native also wanted to progress and for several laps he was putting pressure on Verstappen. But the Dutchman is not easy to overtake and maintained his second position with a forceful and aggressive level of driving.
This fight benefited Leclerc, who gained some advantage, however, Hamilton’s departure from the track forced the race management to bring out the safety car. There was no room for strategies because only a few laps had been contested. On the restart, Leclerc did very well, he controlled his rivals at all times and soon took a big lead again. In fact, Verstappen never went for victory because, with a car that is no longer as competitive (despite winning the sprint race on Saturday), he was more concerned about finishing ahead of Norris, who is his direct rival. In the middle of the test, Sainz played the “undercut” battle and it turned out well. He pitted early, passed Verstappen shortly after and moved into second place, seven seconds behind teammate Leclerc. Ferrari’s double seemed assured in a scenario where the “Scuderia” has a large market and victories on American soil are highly valued.
The excitement moved to the back. Norris, from fourth place, was the last to stop to change tires and went after Verstappen to take away as many points as possible. In any case, the goal was to finish ahead. In just a few laps, from fourth place, the McLaren driver shaved more than three seconds off him and, little by little, gave chase. Until they both met on the track. Norris attacked him almost in every corner. But Verstappen didn’t get nervous. He made a spectacular defense to the despair of Norris… until the McLaren driver finally overtook him with a controversial maneuver, since the Red Bull driver took him off the track and gained a certain advantage. But third place was already his.
Until the stewards intervened and gave him a five-second penalty that returned him to fourth place. Leclerc won in the United States with a well-deserved victory with Carlos Sainz in second place and who at no time challenged his teammate. Perfect race for the Italian team.
The one who did not have a good weekend was Fernando Alonso. The car is already in the preparation phase for 2025 and the team acknowledges that they are already testing parts for next year’s car, which will not change much unless Newey has been able to contribute something to the car. Although the concept will remain the same. The Asturian started from seventh place, also favored by the decision of Mercedes and Russell to start from the pit lane since the Englishman suffered an accident and had to change some elements of the car. But that was not the Aston Martin’s natural position. Little by little, Alonso fell in the classification and was overtaken, on the track, by drivers like Gasly, Lawson or Colapinto. He finished thirteenth.
