Tops
Verstappen hits hard
The Dutchman remained on three races without a win, an anomaly in this F1 season. In Texas, Max Verstappen hit hard and set the record straight. Author of the pole on Saturday despite a lack of pace on Friday, the Red Bull driver had already sent a hell of a message on a track cataloged Mercedes (the pole had not escaped the German cars since 2014 in Austin). And he returned the same message on Sunday. Despite an average start which cost him first place in favor of Lewis Hamilton, Max Verstappen then managed his race perfectly. Just like his team, which did not hesitate to shift it from Mercedes' strategy, with early stops of three laps and then eight laps compared to Hamilton. Despite greater tire wear at the end of the race, Verstappen, as a perfect manager,held his success without really shaking (Hamilton never had the DRS), the eighth this season and the eighteenth in his career. He left Austin with twelve points ahead of Hamilton. Great work.
Solid Leclerc and Ricciardo
Fourth at the finish line, Charles Leclerc had a boring race. Often alone on the track, the Ferrari driver had a good pace throughout the Grand Prix and brought back big points (12) for the Scuderia, engaged in a fight for third place constructors with McLaren. The English brand is content with the fifth place of Daniel Ricciardo. The Australian had a race a little more lively than that of the Monegasque. Long wrestling with Carlos Sainz, the other red car, he got rid of the Spaniard, finally seventh, after contact with the latter which damaged the front wing of the Ferrari. Ricciardo thus confirms his good form with three top five in the last four Grand Prix.
Tsunoda and Vettel regain the points
The Japanese remained on five shortage races.
He had not signed any top 10 since Hungary, it is now done for the AlphaTauri rider.
Author of a clean race, Yuki Tsunoda finished ninth in the USA and is finally having a good weekend.
A weekend that was off to a bad start for Sebastian Vettel.
Victim of the reliability problems of the Mercedes engine, the German had been forced to change engine and start at the back of the grid (18th).
This did not prevent him from slamming the comeback of the day, with in particular a very consistent second stint.
At the end of the race, the Aston Martin driver took advantage of Kimi Raikkonen's mistake to take the point of tenth place.
Vettel in points?
A first since Belgium.
Flops
Alpine zero point
Very bad Sunday for Alpine. Already struggling Friday and Saturday, the blue cars suffered Sunday in Austin. In the first part of the race, and after a difficult start and damage to the front wing, Esteban Ocon was forced to retire without giving any reason. Probably to save coins for the last five races. For his part, Fernando Alonso fought for the top 10 for a long time with Alfa Romeo and Sebastian Vettel but the outcome was the same for the Spaniard. The latter was also forced to retire following a problem with his rear wing in the last laps. A catastrophic Sunday for Alpine who did not score any points. His fifth place in the constructors' position remains in danger because AlphaTauri only pointsto ten units.
Mercedes and Hamilton without solution
Lewis Hamilton did not hesitate to say it after the Grand Prix: “Red Bull was better”. Indeed, but on a route historically favorable to Mercedes, it is a bit of a mess. The seven-time world champion planned to regain points and why not lead the world championship in Austin, he left Texas with finally twelve units behind Verstappen. With five races to go to the end of the season, the urgency is becoming clearer for the seven-time world champion who does not have much to be ashamed of in the race. Second on the grid, he made a perfect start to jump his Dutch rival at the first corner. But behind, he never managed to unscramble the Batavian leech. And at the strategic level, Red Bull has subdued Mercedes. On the track, the Briton struggled, but without theHelping a Bottas still stuck in the peloton and only sixth at the finish, he never came back to Max Verstappen at the end of the race, as his engineer had told him. Second at the finish, LH44 still concedes points. And Mercedes also sees Red Bull return to 27 points among manufacturers with the third position of Sergio Perez. The German brand has seen better days.
Gasly on Black Sunday
The Frenchman was already not confident on Friday, nor on Saturday despite his eighth position on the grid.
We now understand why.
The AlphaTauri pilot had a Black Sunday.
Even before the start, his mechanics were busy with his car to try to repair a problem with the engine of the Frenchman's car.
And obviously this problem was confirmed during the race.
Slowing down after barely more than ten laps, Pierre Gasly retired after fifteen laps.
The bad series continues for the Normand who has scored points only once in the last four races.