Following Norris penalty
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
