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Tyres NorthamptonMax Verstappen had to overcome a spirited Lewis Hamilton to take victory in Austin for Formula One's 2022 United States Grand Prix. The now two-time champion showed no signs of letting his foot off the gas in the final four rounds. Max hungrily chased Hamilton down in the race's closing laps despite already winning the championship. Verstappen's victory was even more poignant as it clinched Red Bull their first Constructors' title since 2013, just one day after the death of the company's co-owner Dietrich Mateschitz.
Verstappen took to the task of bringing home another winner's trophy from lights out. He started better from P2 than polesitter Carlos Sainz and was ahead as the pack raced uphill to the Turn 1 hairpin. However, Sainz's disappointment in losing P1 soon turned to despair. Mercedes' George Russell collided with the Spaniard's Ferrari at the first corner, sending Sainz spinning to the back. A coolant leak from the contact meant Sainz became the US Grand Prix's first retirement on Lap 1.
With Sainz out, Hamilton slotted into P2 to try and chase Verstappen. Russell, undamaged after the Sainz incident, took P4, with Sergio Perez and Charles Leclerc making their way through from further back after receiving grid penalties for taking on additional power unit elements.
The opening laps saw the top cars filter their way up the grid, and soon enough, Perez was fighting Russell for P3 as the pair of high-flying Aston Martins fell back. But with only a dozen laps on the board, excessive tyre wear became the surprise early talking point. The Pirelli Medium compound couldn't hold on too long, and Hamilton, then Verstappen, pitted from the front.
The pit lane activity didn't change the order, as Verstappen retained the race lead. Perez, however, eased past Russell, who had to serve a five-second penalty for the Sainz contact. However, the biggest winner through the first round of pit stops was Leclerc, who bided his time and stopped during one of two Safety Car periods.
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Valtteri Bottas joined Sainz on the sidelines when his Alfa Romeo span into the gravel trap and out of the race. Ferrari pitted Leclerc from the P2 position he had reached by extending his stint, and the Monegasque reemerged in P4 – a far throw from his P12 starting slot. However, any hopes he could progress further would need to wait as a second, far more violent incident followed when the race restarted.
Fernando Alonso had used the Safety Car slowdown to close in on the tail of his 2023 teammate Lance Stroll. In a standard slipstream overtake attempt, the Spaniard moved to the left to try and pass. However, Stroll also jinked to the left at the same time, and Alonso smashed into the back of the Aston Martin and went flying through the air and into the barriers.
Debris filled the track, and Stroll was fortunate not to have any rival crash into his wrecked car. Alonso, meanwhile, somehow managed to nurse his Alpine back to the pits to rejoin the race. Without even one lap of running after the first Safety Car, the race director called a second one out again.
When the clean-up operation concluded, Verstappen edged away from Hamilton to retain the lead, but Leclerc pressured Perez for P3. After a failed move on the Mexican on the outside of Turn 12 on Lap 29, Leclerc opted for the inside line one lap later and made the overtake stick to reach the podium positions from his lowly starting place.
Although the Hard Pirellis lasted longer than the Medium equivalents, Hamilton made another stop on Lap 35 to trigger a second round of pit stops. Red Bull duly reacted one lap later with Verstappen. But an uncharacteristic mistake on the front-left wheel from the team had their Dutch champion stuck in his pit box, losing positions to Hamilton, who took the lead, and Leclerc, who had also pitted.
Despite the close running between Ferrari and Red Bull earlier in the year, Leclerc had no answer to Verstappen when the pair returned to the track. Verstappen closed Leclerc down the long DRS straight and took P2 without much fight.
Out front, Hamilton had to pass Sebastian Vettel, whose pit strategy temporarily gave the German an unexpected lead, before trying to maintain a gap to the chasing Verstappen. Also, to add to the popcorn finale, Hamilton had a final set of long-lasting Hard Pirellis, while Verstappen had to nurse some Mediums for his last stint.
Tyre differences or not, the Red Bull's pace soon had Verstappen filling the mirrors of Hamilton's Mercedes. With six laps remaining, Verstappen went for the move on the inside of Turn 12 after the back straight. The two went side-by-side through the technical stadium section, briefly looking like either driver could snatch the lead, but Verstappen's grippier rubber saw him retake P1.
So it's another win for Verstappen, but with far more fight than he's faced in this second half of the 2022 season, thanks to his team's pit stop problem. There's a quick turnaround for F1 now, as the sport heads south of the border to face the high-altitude Mexico City Grand Prix this weekend.
