Ferari’s Charles was crowned number 1 at the Austin Texas US GP with his teammate Carlos Sainz finishing second his second-best result of the season. This earned a one-two victory for the Italian team. Red Bull’s Max Verstappen finished in third place after Lando Norris was given a five-second penalty after he overtook him off the track which resulted Brtionian being dropped at the fourth Position.
The second McLaren driver Oscar Piastri was just behind Norris on number 5. Red Bull’s Sergio Perez finished on 7 close behind Gorge Russell who climbed to the sixth spot after starting the race from the pit lane. Haas had a strong showing with Nico Hulkenberg finishing eighth, securing valuable points for the team in US GP.
It was a memorable outing for debutant Liam Lawson who was filling the shoes of Daniel Ricardo in Racing Bulls V Carb. He was good enough to outscore Franco Colapinto as he finished on number 9 while Colapinto finished on number 10. Both impressing the pundits and fans alike.
More F1 Content:
Daniel Ricciardo’s Career in Formula 1: The Ultimate case of “What if”
Analysis of Audi’s F1 Entry: Exploring the Prospects and Implication
Penalties And Sprint Race At The US GP
The US GP weekend began with a Friday’s sprint race, won by Max Verstappen. On Saturday, Lando Norris secured pole position with a strong qualifying performance. George Russell and Liam Lawson, both penalized, started the main race from the pit lane, while Zhou Guanyu dropped to 18th due to a grid penalty.
The Race Day Drama
On the US GP Sunday drivers and fans were greeted with a sunny Texas morning. With the lights out duel began between Defending Champion Max Verstappen and Pole seter Lando Norris Verstappen emerged winner in the initial battle he pushed the British driver wide and Charles Lecrec was able to get first position due to this. Later, Sainz also moved ahead of Norris in third place which dropped him to fourth place.
Lewis Hamilton’s day was far from ideal as he started the race from the back of the grid. He gained some positions initially but in the fourth lap of the US GP, he hit the gravel resulting in an early retirement from the race just after four laps.
As the race entered final stages Norris overtook Verstappen to claim the podium. After this contreversial move Lando Norris came under scanner . Max Verstappen complained over the radio that Briton overtook off-track limited. Later on, FIA penalized Norris for five second penalty points which cost him a podium finish and important race points.
Track Invasion Incident during US GP
Although the race was over but the drama wasn’t during the cooldown lap of USA GP 2024 at COTA almost 200 fans invaded the track climbing the fences while the cars were still on the track. FIA summoned US GP promoters for the breach of safety protocols. It was later revealed that the area was not even included event’s safety plan.
COTA promoter fined €500,000, with €350,000 suspended until 2026 if no similar incidents occur.
Looking Ahead
After the US GP points margin between Max Verstappen and Lando Norris shrank to just 57 points with Dutchman sitting at the top. Mclaren still leads the constructors championship by a narrow margin of 40 points. Ferrari though far from winning driver’s and constructor championships has still shot at taking the second spot at the end of the year.
Now five races remain in the season and this season being unpredictable things will only get more interesting moving on from the US GP McLaren will seriously have to work to avoid such slumps in the future if they want to keep Lando Norris’s championship dream alive. Red Bull will also be looking to defend their championship. The F1 action resumes next weekend from Sergio Perez’s home race Mexico GP.
Also Read:
