https://x.com/scuderiaferrari/status/1848295663249002827?s=46  

What a watch!

Regardless of who your favourite driver is, you cannot argue that it wasn’t a thrilling race at the Circuit of the Americas with all the cars in the mix. LeClerc jumped the championship contender duo, Lawson pulling a fast one on Yuki, the Lewis Hamilton shocker, a Russell drive-through, and a Perez stinker.

With tensions rising between Max and Lando and Ferrari slowly sneaking into the championship conversation, both the drivers and constructors, the weekend cannot come fast enough.

Let’s unpack all 56 laps and find out who the biggest Grand Prix winners and losers were.

Lap 1: Coming Through

The hot and sunny afternoon in Texas was interrupted by the sound of 20 hybrid-powered v6 engines racing down the straight toward the first breaking zone. Max Verstappen, leader of the driver’s championship, having extended his lead by two points to 54 at the sprint, pointed his car right to cut off pole-sitter Lando when the lights went green immediately.

Doing so left the doors wide open for LeClerc to capitalize and soon disappear into the horizon. Max remained P2, but Lando has lost three places and is now P4 behind Carlos Sainz's Ferrari.

Now at the very end of the pack was Esteban Ocon, who found himself in a spin after a tangle with the Williams of Alex Albon.

Lap 2: In your Mirrors

With no DRS, Carlos Saiz put Verstappen through the wringer with their battle, buying LeClerc precious time to eke out his advantage in front.

The first surprise of the race was Lewis Hamilton losing his rear and beaching himself in the gravel. Luckily, the seven-time world champion was okay but unable to recover the car. It became evident that a safety car was in the cards.

Toto Wolff, Mercedes Team Principal, was quick to defend Lewis:

Lap 3: Bernd Mayländer called to Action

The safety car was deployed in Lap 3 to allow Marshalls to recover the ailing silver arrow safely. This was the first time the safety car had been called into action since the Canadian GP in June earlier this year.

Lap 5: Safety Card Ending

The safety car retreated in Lap 5, and LeClerc’s prancing horse had Max Verstappen to contend with. Like glue, he stuck behind LeClerc, snaking through all the corners of the COTA circuit.

Lap 9: Smooth Operator in Trouble

Lap 14: Up to 14th on the 14th Lap

Russell, who started from the pitlane after the team was found to have broken parc ferme rules, passed former Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas. A move the stewards later found to be illegal, with Russell having forced Bottas off the track, earning himself a 5-second penalty.

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Verstappen's garage had an ominous message for Max, “Problem with the car.” One, they said, will be fixed at his next pit stop.

Lap 21: Papaya Time

The McLarens came into their own, setting similar times to the front runners, with the car settled from the graining phase.

Lap 22: The Undercut is Strong

Sainz is told to box to give him track position against Max Verstappen when he eventually pits. Sainz comes out on new hards to make an impression on the race.

Lap 26: The Championship Leader Pits

Max Verstappen stops to change to a set of new hards that should take him to the end of the race. It was a relatively slow 2.7-second stop by Red Bull's high standards. Max joins the track behind Carlos Sainz.

Lap 27: The Race Leader Pits

The team had gathered valuable data from Sainz on the hards and pitted LeClerc. After a fast stop of 2.5 seconds, he returned to the track behind the McLarens, who had yet to stop.

Lap 31: LeClerc Up to Second

The Monagasque makes easy work of Piastri, who didn’t fight the overtake on his old mediums. Up ahead was Norris, who was 4 seconds ahead and losing one second per lap to LeClerc.

Lap 32: Lando Pits

Lando Norris was the first of the two McLarens to box. 2.2 second fast stop and out, he was to continue his title charge against Max.

Lap 33: Piastri Pits

It's a decent stop, 2.6 seconds for Oscar Piastri.

Lap 37: Trouble for The Flying Dutchman

Verstappen was struggling. He radioed the team, saying:  
Lawson pits the same lap. 2.5-second stop and comes out on racy mediums ahead of teammate Yuki Tsunoda, who could not believe his eyes.

Lap 41: Russell Serves His Time Penalty

Russell is stationary for 8.0 seconds after serving his penalty from the illegal overtake on Bottas.

Lap 42: Which Ferrari will take the Chequered Flag?

Carlos Sainz sets a purple lap time and is hot on the heels of his teammate. With 5.639 seconds separating them, who will take the flag?

Lap 44: DRS Activated

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Lando Norris, with the perfect contender’s drive, breaks the 1-second gap to Max and can now freely use DRS. With two DRS zones on the track, he inches ever closer to stealing third position.

Lap 46: Franco Colapinto Sets Fastest Lap

https://x.com/f1/status/1848072929197568306?s=46

Entranced by 2 laps of “edge of your seat” racing by Max and Lando, Franco Colapinto saves us from our hypnotism by setting the fastest time of the race before he was relieved of the accolade later in the race by Esteban Ocon with a time of 1:37.330.

Lap 52: Lando is ahead!

After eight laps of driving to the limits and a defensive class by the three-time world champion on how to keep your challenger behind, Lando finally gets past Max at turn 12. Max applied his break late, appearing to have missed the Apex, and Lando went off the track and soldiered past the Red Bull.

Lap 55: Great Recovery Drive!

After starting from the pit lane, George Russell finally passes Sergio Perez to claim sixth place. Perez, who did not have the upgrades on his teammate's car, fought hard to maintain his position, but it was not to be.

Lap 56: Awry Guidelines or Defensive Masterclass

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The controversial moment of the race came in Lap 56, when Lando, who had overtaken Max off the track but felt he was in his rights to do so because he was forced off and left no room, was handed a 5-second penalty by the stewards.

Verstappen has been lauded for driving to the limits, knowing the rules, and playing to the tunes just right. However, his racecraft has also been criticized, with many fans calling for an adjustment to the regulations.

LeClerc takes the Checquered Flag!

https://x.com/scuderiaferrari/status/1848639283759857839?s=46

After leading most of the laps in the race, LeClerc's victory was all but certain. The Ferrari driver took the chequered flag in commanding style to make it eight wins in his Formula One career, successfully holding off the charge of an unleashed Carlos Sainz, who is, for the most part, driving for himself.

Final Race Classification!

	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	16	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	56	1:35:09.639	25
2	55	Carlos Sainz	Ferrari	56	+8.562s	18
3	1	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing Honda RBPT	56	+19.412s	15
4	4	Lando Norris	McLaren Mercedes	56	+20.354s	12
5	81	Oscar Piastri	McLaren Mercedes	56	+21.921s	10
6	63	George Russell	Mercedes	56	+56.295s	8
7	11	Sergio Perez	Red Bull Racing Honda RBPT	56	+59.072s	6
8	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Haas Ferrari	56	+62.957s	4
9	30	Liam Lawson	RB Honda RBPT	56	+70.563s	2
10	43	Franco Colapinto	Williams Mercedes	56	+71.979s	1
11	20	Kevin Magnussen	Haas Ferrari	56	+79.782s	0
12	10	Pierre Gasly	Alpine Renault	56	+90.558s	0
13	14	Fernando Alonso	Aston Martin Aramco Mercedes	55	+1 lap	0
14	22	Yuki Tsunoda	RB Honda RBPT	55	+1 lap	0
15	18	Lance Stroll	Aston Martin Aramco Mercedes	55	+1 lap	0
16	23	Alexander Albon	Williams Mercedes	55	+1 lap	0
17	77	Valtteri Bottas	Kick Sauber Ferrari	55	+1 lap	0
18	31	Esteban Ocon	Alpine Renault	55	+1 lap	0
19	24	Zhou Guanyu	Kick Sauber Ferrari	55	+1 lap	0
NC	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	1	DNF	0

 

Next Stop: Gran Premio de la Ciudad de México

The stage is set, and Mexico is the venue. With 8 points, the difference between Red Bull in second and Ferrari in the constructor’s championship, there’s a lot on the line. LeClerc will hope to continue his charge to unseat Lando in second in the driver’s championship, and Lando, who lost four points to Max, will hope for a better weekend. However, nobody will hope more for a reversal of fortune than homeboy Sergio Perez, who hasn’t had it easy for the last few races.