INDIA in F1

Tag: US Grand Prix

  • Charles Leclerc leads Ferrari 1-2 at US GP: Formula 1

    Charles Leclerc leads Ferrari 1-2 at US GP: Formula 1

    Austin, 20 October 2024: Charles Leclerc took a dominant US Grand Prix win as Carlos Sainz followed the Monegasque driver to the flag to hand Ferrari a 1-2 finish at the Circuit of the Americas. Behind them Red Bull’s Max Verstappen took third place after a thrilling battle with title rival Lando Norris that ended with the McLaren driver getting a five-second penalty for passing Verstappen off the track. 

    At the start, polesitter Norris got away well but on the approach to Turn 1 Verstappen attacked on the inside and when both he and Norris went wide on exit, Leclerc slipped through to claim the lead ahead of Verstappen Sainz and Norris. 

    On lap 3 Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton spun off and with his car beached in a gravel trap, the Safety Car was released. Hamilton’s Mercedes was quickly recovered and the action resumed at the start of lap six. And though Verstappen stuck with the Ferrari driver on the restart, Leclerc was comfortably able to keep the Dutchman behind and once the initial threat was nullified, he was able to pull away across the remainder of an impressive first stint on Medium tyres. 

    Leclerc made his sole pit stop of the race on lap 26. He emerged behind the McLarens of Norris and team-mate Oscar Piastri, but after passing Piastri and then waiting for Norris to make his stop for Hard tyres, the Monegasque driver stretched his legs in the second stint to take a comfortable win. 

    Sainz, meanwhile, used his sole pit stop to undercut Verstappen and though stayed in touch with Leclerc, the Spanish driver settled for second and his 24th career podium finish. 

    While the Ferrari drivers’ drive to the podium was smooth, behind them a more turbulent contest was developing. 

    Verstappen was unhappy with his Hard tyres in his second stint, telling the Red Bull pit wall that he couldn’t “brake” or “attacke the corners”. And with Norris more comfortable on six-lap younger Hard tyres behind him it was only a matter of time before the McLaren driver reeled in the Dutchman. 

    After the pit stops, Norris rapidly chewed through a six-second deficit to Verstappen and hauled himself within DRS range of Verstappen by lap 45. He then began a relentless series of attacks, always pressing in Turns 1 and 12 to see if he could provoke a mistake. 

    Verstappen defended expertly, however, to keep Norris at bay with the result that on lap 52 Norris went for broke. 

    The McLaren driver tried to attack on the outside of Turn 12 but both drivers went wide and Norris overtook his rival off track to steal P3. Expecting a sanction he tried to press ahead and gain a five-second advantage over the Red Bull driver, but Verstappen was resolute and when they crossed the line he was just four seconds in arrears. The race Stewards had already delivered their verdict of a five-second for passing off-track and Verstappen made it onto the podium by just 0.9s.

    Oscar Piastri took fifth place in the second McLaren, 34 seconds clear of George Russell. The Mercedes driver put in a strong performance, starting from the pit lane and recovering from a five-second penalty in the race to power through to P6, passing Red Bull’s Sergio Pérez in the closing stages. 

    Nico Hulkenberg took eighth for Haas, while Liam Lawson delivered an equally strong race rising from 19that the start to claim P9 and two points on his return to F1. Franco Colapinto collected the final point for Williams. 

    2024 FIA Formula 1 United States Grand Prix – Race 
    1 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 56 1:35’09.639 
    2 Carlos Sainz Ferrari 56 1:35’18.201 8.562
    3 Max Verstappen Red Bull/Honda RBPT 56 1:35’29.051 19.412
    4 Lando Norris McLaren/Mercedes 56 1:35’29.993 20.354
    5 Oscar Piastri McLaren/Mercedes 56 1:35’31.560 21.921
    6 George Russell Mercedes 56 1:36’05.934 56.295
    7 Sergio Pérez Red Bull/Honda RBPT 56 1:36’08.711 59.072
    8 Nico Hülkenberg Haas/Ferrari 56 1:36’12.596 1’02.957
    9 Liam Lawson RB/Honda RBPT 56 1:36’20.202 1’10.563
    10 Franco Colapinto Williams/Mercedes 56 1:36’21.618 1’11.979
    11 Kevin Magnussen Haas/Ferrari 56 1:36’29.421 1’19.782
    12 Pierre Gasly Alpine/Renault 56 1:36’40.197 1’30.558
    13 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin/Mercedes 55 1:35’11.365 1 lap /1.726
    14 Yuki Tsunoda RB/Honda RBPT 55 1:35’17.851 1 lap /8.212
    15 Lance Stroll Aston Martin/Mercedes 55 1:35’26.622 1 lap /16.983
    16 Alexander Albon Williams/Mercedes 55 1:35’27.731 1 lap /18.092
    17 Valtteri Bottas Sauber/Ferrari 55 1:35’43.972 1 lap /34.333
    18 Esteban Ocon Alpine/Renault 55 1:35’51.751 1 lap /42.112
    19 Zhou Guanyu Sauber/Ferrari 55 1:35’58.879 1 lap /49.240

  • Charles Leclerc takes US pole; Verstappen crosses track limits, loses pole

    Charles Leclerc takes US pole; Verstappen crosses track limits, loses pole

    Austin, 20 October 2023: Charles Leclerc claimed pole position for the 2023 FIA Formula 1 United States Grand Prix after Max Verstappen lost a possible 11th pole position of the season to a track limits violation in the final corner of his final flyer of a close-fought qualifying session at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas. 

    Leclerc claimed provisional pole with a lap of 1:34.723 but Verstappen beat the Ferrari driver’s pace over the first sector of his final lap. The three champion looked to have done enough as he crossed the line 0.005s ahead of the Ferrari driver, but within seconds Verstappen’s time was deleted for exceeding track limits in Turn 19. He dropped to sixth place at the end of the session. Lecler will be joined on the front row for the race by McLaren’s Lando Norris, with Lewis Hamilton third for Mercedes. 

    At the start of Q1 Verstappen made an instant impression, jumping up to P1 with a lap of 1:36.470, 0.152 clear of Leclerc. With eight minutes remaining Nico Hülkenberg moved to the top of the order in his upgraded Haas, posting a time of 1:36.235 before being quickly outpaced by Alpine’s Pierre Gasly who went seven hundredths of a second quicker than the German. 

    However, with five minutes remaining and just ahead of the final runs, Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz set a new target time of 1:35.824, with three tenths of a second ahead of Leclerc who also improved. 

    Verstappen was back on track, however, and the champion returned to the top of the order with a lap of 1:35.346, 0.478 clear of Sainz. In the final moments, however, Verstappen was edged out of P1, with Hamilton moving to the top ahead of Norris. That left the Red Bull driver with P3 at the end of the session, ahead of Sainz and AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda. 

    Ruled out at the end of the session were 16th-placed Hülkenberg followed by Aston Martin’s Ferrnando Alonso, Williams’ Alex Albon, the second Aston of Lance Stroll and last-placed Logan Sargeant in the other Williams. 

    Leclerc set the pace at the start of Q2 with a lap of 1:35.888, but the Ferrari driver was swiftly eclipsed by both Mercedes drivers and by McLaren’s Oscar Piatsri who took P1 with a lap of 1:35.576.  Verstappen was just behind the Australian on track, however, and when he crossed the line he was 0.085s ahead and in top spot. Sergio Pérez then moved to P5 in the other Red Bull and just 0.188 covered the closely matched top five. 

    In the final runs, Leclerc managed to hold on to top spot – just. The Ferrari driver was first on track and he set the benchmark at 1:35.004, almost three tenths of a second ahead of team-mate Sainz. Verstappen booked his Q3 spot in P2, just 0.004s off Leclerc and more than two tenths ahead of Hamilton. 

    The drop zone’s first faller was Tsunoda and the 11th-placed Japanese driver was followed to the exit by Alfa Romeo’s Zhou Guanyu and Valtteri Bottas, with Haas’ Kevin Magnussen and AlhaTauri’s returning Daniel Ricciardo dropping out in 14th and 15th respectively.

    Verstappen was first on track at the start of the final 12-minute session and the Dutchman stopped the clock at 1:35.081. However, he caught Pérez in the final corner and he ended the first run in P3 with a time of 1:35.081, behind Leclerc and second-placed Hamilton. 

    In the final runs Leclerc set a stern target, posting a lap of 1:34.723. Verstappen looked to have done enough but in the final corner, he slid wide and slid back to sixth. 

    Norris took P2 0.130 off Leclerc with Hamilton just 0.009s further back in third. Carlos Sainz took P4 for Ferrari ahead of Mercedes’ George Russell with Verstappen sixth. Behind the champion Gasly will start in P7 ahead of team-mate Esteban Ocon with Pérez in P9 ahead of Piastri.

    2023 FIA United States Grand Prix – Qualifying 
    1 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:34.723 – –
    2 Lando Norris McLaren 1:34.853 0.130 
    3 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:34.862 0.139 
    4 Carlos Sainz Ferrari 1:34.945 0.222 
    5 George Russell Mercedes 1:35.079 0.356 
    6 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing 1:35.081 0.358 
    7 Pierre Gasly Alpine 1:35.089 0.366 
    8 Esteban Ocon Alpine 1:35.154 0.431 
    9 Sergio Pérez Red Bull Racing 1:35.173 0.450 
    10 Oscar Piastri McLaren 1:35.467 0.744 
    11 Yuki Tsunoda AlphaTauri 1:35.697 0.974 
    12 Zhou Guanyu Alfa Romeo 1:35.698 0.975 
    13 Valtteri Bottas Alfa Romeo 1:35.858 1.135 
    14 Kevin Magnussen Haas 1:35.880 1.157 
    15 Daniel Ricciardo AlphaTauri 1:35.974 1.251 
    16 Nico Hülkenberg Haas 1:36.235 1.512 
    17 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin 1:36.268 1.545 
    18 Alexander Albon Williams 1:36.315 1.592 
    19 Lance Stroll Aston Martin 1:36.589 1.866 
    20 Logan Sargeant Williams 1:36.827 2.104