After putting in a remarkable effort to win the US Grand Prix, there was an unfortunate irony in Max Verstappen being booed as he ascended the podium amid an overwhelmingly successful season. The reaction was unwarranted. He secured his 50th win under unprecedented pressure this year.
Many of Verstappen’s 15 victories this season came with ease, likely contributing to the fan response at the Circuit of the Americas. However, this particular win was hard-fought. Starting from sixth, he grappled with a brake issue from the first lap and faced fierce competition from Lewis Hamilton’s strong Mercedes and Lando Norris’s resurgent McLaren, pushing him to the limit.
Verstappen finished with just a two-second lead over Hamilton, with Norris in third. Despite Red Bull’s season-long dominance, Verstappen had to execute precise control over 56 laps, managing his brake problem, especially in the tense final third as Hamilton closed in.
Post-race, the FIA revealed that both Hamilton and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, who finished sixth, failed the plank wear inspection and were disqualified. Consequently, Norris was promoted to second, Carlos Sainz took third, Sergio Perez moved up to fourth, and Logan Sargeant, the home driver, scored his first F1 point by being promoted to 10th place.
Mercedes team principal, Toto Wolff, acknowledged the situation: “Others got it right where we got it wrong, and there’s no wiggle room in the rules. We need to take it on the chin, learn from it, and come back stronger next weekend.”
Hamilton, despite the disqualification, was pleased with his team’s performance. “It is disappointing to be disqualified post-race, but it doesn’t detract from the progress we’ve made this weekend,” he said.
Verstappen admitted the challenge: “I was struggling a lot with the brakes, which definitely made my race tougher,” he said. “It was very close at the end, and with the tyres already going, it made everything more difficult.”
Mid-race, a frustrated Verstappen vented his frustration at his car, highlighting the significant struggle with the brakes, despite it being a top-notch engineering marvel defeated only once this year.
Both Mercedes and McLaren threw everything at Verstappen, including alternative pit strategies, knowing they couldn’t match his pace. Mercedes opted for an offset, keeping Hamilton out longer during the first stops. It was a gamble, and the team must now consider if they waited one or two laps too long, but it resulted in a thrilling finish as Hamilton closed in on Verstappen but ran out of laps.
Mercedes brought a major floor upgrade to Texas, and Hamilton was very pleased with the performance, especially after crashing out in Qatar. “With my big mistake, I felt like I let the team down a lot,” he said before his disqualification was announced. “So I had to go through a deep process to get back here, and again it was one of those experiences of it’s not how you fall, it’s how you get back up. I came in fighting, felt great, and I’m really happy with this result.”
Norris, who led from the start, drove another excellent race as he and McLaren achieved an extraordinary turnaround. They started the season struggling while Aston Martin had a very quick car, with Fernando Alonso scoring several podiums.
Two major upgrades have been revolutionary for McLaren. Before the first upgrade in Austria, they trailed Aston by 137 points but have since been hugely impressive. They went into this race just six points behind Aston and now lead by seven points. The Woking team is on a roll and poised to hold fourth place in the constructors’ championship through the remaining four meetings.
