Ferrari Dominates With 1-2 Finish In America, Controversial Podium For Verstappen

The United States Grand Prix ended with Ferraris first and second, Charles Leclerc taking his eighth Formula 1 win, his third this season. The Monegasque crossed the line ahead of team-mate Carlos Sainz, to give the Scuderia its 87th one-two finish. The team also becomes the most successful in terms of wins in Formula 1 races held in the USA with 14.

Joining them on the podium was Max Verstappen, who thus extends his Drivers’ championship lead to 57 points ahead of Lando Norris, who finished fourth today. The fight in the Constructors’ championship is much closer with three teams all covered by 48 points: McLaren leads on 544, followed by Red Bull on 504 and Ferrari on 496.

Fifteen drivers opted to start on the Medium tyre, with the Sauber drivers, Bottas and Zhou going with a used set. Five others, Hamilton and Russell in the Mercedes, Stroll (Aston Martin), Colapinto (Williams) and Lawson (Racing Bulls) lined up on Hard tyres. As expected, the Soft was not considered, although Ocon (Alpine) fitted them right at the very end with the aim of depriving Colapinto in the Williams of picking up the point for the race fastest lap, a mission successfully accomplished by the Alpine driver.

The one-stop was the preferred strategy for the vast majority of drivers. Apart from the previously mentioned Ocon, only Zhou and Magnussen (Haas) made two planned stops, while Albon (Williams) had to stop in the early stages to take on a second set of Mediums.

Russell and Bottas both drove the longest stints of all, driving 40 laps on the Hard, the Englishman on his first stint, the Finn on his second. The longest run on the Medium tyre was completed by Piastri who drove 32 laps in the McLaren.

Mario Isola – Pirelli Director of Motorsport

“First and foremost, congratulations to Ferrari for a wonderful one-two finish in a country which has always been very important for the Prancing Horse. On the tyre front, it was a very interesting Sunday, because of the technical insights it provided. Based on previous data and from what we learned in yesterday’s Sprint, when the Medium demonstrated a very high wear rate, combined with what we knew from this race last year, a one-stop did not seem viable. And yet it proved to be not only the winning strategy, but also almost the only one adopted by the field. As for the behaviour of the Medium, the Safety Car following Hamilton going off the track in the early stages, meant that those who had started on this compound could extend their stint, while it also meant the tyres were put under less stress during the crucial early stages, when the cars are running with a heavy fuel load. There were two other elements to consider: the significant evolution of the track condition, with much of it resurfaced leading to a major reduction in graining compared to what we saw in the Sprint and then the changes the teams were able to make to their set-up, based on what they learned yesterday.”