Race winner Max Verstappen of the Netherlands and Oracle Red Bull Racing celebrates in parc ferme following the F1 Grand Prix of United States at Circuit of The Americas on October 22, 2023 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)
AUSTIN, Texas – Following his title-winning weekend at the Qatar Grand Prix, Max Verstappen and Red Bull Racing looked to continue their dominance as Formula 1 headed back to the United States for the United States Grand Prix at the Circuit of the Americas, the second of three races in the states in 2023.
Like the race two weeks prior in Qatar, the USGP was a Sprint Format weekend, which saw a singular practice on Friday and qualifying for the Grand Prix on the same day. The Sprint Shootout and the Sprint Race came on Saturday, while Sunday was the regular Grand Prix.
On Friday, the lone practice saw teams not able to fully stretch out their legs due to the constraints of the solo practice, but it was Verstappen who sat on the top of the timing sheets once the session was complete. Followed behind was the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc, the Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton, the other Red Bull of Sergio Perez, and the Haas of Kevin Magnussen showcasing a new aero look, rounding out the Top 5.
A short time later, Grand Prix qualifying came around, and a familiar story showcased itself as track limits became the biggest headache for drivers as they attempted to find their limits for the fastest lap time. Verstappen was the biggest victim of the session, as what looked to be a pole-setting time was deleted following him going a bit long in the penultimate corner, sealing a shock pole for Ferrari and Leclerc with the McLaren of Lando Norris lining up alongside him.
Attention turned to Saturday’s Sprint day as the Sprint Shootout would be first. Verstappen led the way through, even including a spin in Turn 9, but it wasn’t enough to stop him from grabbing the Sprint Race pole, narrowly ahead of Sunday’s pole sitter Leclerc. It also looked like Hamilton and Norris would be contenders through both races after the Sprint Shootout.
Finally, for the first time, it was time for a Sprint Race at COTA. The tire strategy looked simple once tire blankets were removed from the cars, as the Medium tire was expected to last the entire race. However, Ferrari looked to try something different and started Carlos Sainz on the Soft tires, hoping to make up spots at the start of the race.
The lights went out, and Verstappen hastily started across the track to defend from Leclerc, sending them to the edge of the track before making it up the hill and into Turn 1 safely. Taking advantage of the leaders fighting, Hamilton brought his Mercedes up to and past Leclerc to set his sights on his 2021 title rival.
For a handful of laps, it looked like Hamilton could hang onto the Red Bull, but the pace finally was able to be set in, and Verstappen cruised off. Meanwhile, behind them, the decision to start on Soft tires wasn’t going well for Sainz, as he began to hold back the McLaren of Norris, the other Mercedes of George Russell, and Perez.
Max Verstappen of the Netherlands driving the (1) Oracle Red Bull Racing RB19 on track during the Sprint ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of United States at Circuit of The Americas on October 21, 2023 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Rudy Carezzevoli/Getty Images)
Verstappen’s pace was enough to cruise to the first-ever hat trick of Sprint victories in a single season, while Hamilton came in second. Norris made a valiant effort to make it to the podium, but it was too late as he crossed the line behind Leclerc.
With the Sprint Race out of the way, attention now turned to the main event of the weekend, the USGP. Before the race even started, it was announced that the Aston Martin cars of Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso and the Haas cars of Magnussen and Nico Hulkenberg would start from the pit lane after they decided to change setups on their cars. Strategy looked to be a risky one-stop strategy or a more conventional two-stop strategy, with most teams starting on the Medium tires, while Stroll and Hulkenberg looked to run longer on a set of Hard compound tires.
The lights went out, and Norris got an excellent start in his McLaren to take the lead of the Grand Prix as they exited Turn 1. Norris led Leclerc and Hamilton while Verstappen had made his way into fifth after starting sixth, and the McLaren of Oscar Piastri had made a charge from 10th up to sixth, even with contact from the Alpine of Esteban Ocon.
While Norris continued to lead, Hamilton and Verstappen looked to move up the field, leap-frogging the pair of Ferraris one by one. However, the damage Piastri received from the contact with Ocon was too much, and McLaren retired the rookie. Similarly, the Alpine team brought in Ocon to retire him later in the race, his third retirement in five races.
The first round of pit stops was unleashed as Verstappen was brought in by his team to attempt to make an undercut, causing an immediate reaction from Norris, Sainz, and Perez. At the same time, it looked like Hamilton and Leclerc would look to extend their pit window. However, with a new set of Medium tires, Verstappen had gotten into the pit window of Hamilton, much to the Seven-Time World Champ’s dismay.
Soon, with the pit cycles now completed, Verstappen had his sights on the race lead, currently occupied by Norris’ McLaren. By lap 29, Verstappen took advantage of a mistake and got Norris to lead the Grand Prix.
Soon, another round of pit stops was upon teams, and the McLaren team blinked first, bringing in Norris to try to undercut Verstappen. Red Bull responded, albeit with a slow stop, but still retained Norris’s lead while Ferrari attempted a one-stop strategy with Leclerc.
Mercedes planned to attempt to use a more competitive tire over Verstappen and make up the gap. Hamilton worked on Norris and finally made his way past into Turn 1. Meanwhile, further down the grid, the Williams pair of Alex Albon and Logan Sargeant were making good progress standing outside the points. But a lousy weekend turned worse for Alonso as a rear suspension failure caused the Aston Martin team to have Alonso retire the car.
With the laps winding down, Hamilton needed to close in 5-seconds to achieve his first win in close to two years using a tire advantage over Verstappen with a difference of Hard and Medium tires and Verstappen facing some braking issues.
But the pace of the Red Bull proved too much as Max Verstappen cruised to victory, a milestone at that. On top of being a hat trick of victories at the Circuit of the Americas, it was his 50th career win. Lewis Hamilton crossed the line second, with Lando Norris coming home third. Closing out the Top 5 came the Ferrari of Carlos Sainz and the other Red Bull of Sergio Perez, who capitalized on quiet days.
The Ferrari of Charles Leclerc tried to make a 1-stop strategy work, but he lost too much ground, finishing in sixth. George Russell brought his Mercedes home seventh, followed by Pierre Gasly in his Alpine, Lance Stroll making it into the points in the ninth, and Yuki Tsunoda in the AlphaTauri grabbing the Fastest Lap point on the last lap in the 10th.
Max Verstappen of the Netherlands driving the (1) Oracle Red Bull Racing RB19 on track during the F1 Grand Prix of United States at Circuit of The Americas on October 22, 2023 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)
Rounding out the remaining runners came the Williams pair of Alex Albon and Logan Sargeant in 11th and 12th, with Nico Hulkenberg finishing 13th. The Alfa Romeos led by Valtteri Bottas finished ahead of his teammate Zhou Guanyu, the Haas of Kevin Magnussen, and the AlphaTauri of Daniel Ricciardo.
However, the drama wasn’t complete. After the race in post-race technical inspection, it was announced that the cars for Hamilton and Leclerc looked out of regulation with the expectation of disqualification from the race. After a bit, the disqualification was confirmed, meaning both drivers won’t keep their finishing positions and points.
The DQs meant that the podium was now Verstappen, Norris, and Sainz while the Williams pair of Albon and Sargeant would now be moved into the points, a bit double points day for the team. Furthermore, it would be the first F1 points of his career for Sargeant on his home soil—a massive achievement.
Formula 1 now heads to Mexico City for the Mexican Grand Prix at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez. It will be soon time to see if McLaren and Mercedes have caught up or if Red Bull and Max Verstappen will continue their impressive form through the end of the year.
