Verstappen adds his thirteenth victory, ahead of Hamilton and Leclerc, in a race where Russell hit the author of the ‘pole’ and the Spaniard suffered a terrible accident.
It should not be angry Max Verstappen, thirsty for glory even when he has already exceeded any expectation. No one should exacerbate the two-time champion. Neither Lewis Hamiltonin search of its first victory of the year, nor Red Bull itself, which put its leader in a critical situation with a calamitous pit stop on lap 36. No less than 11 seconds of deficit in the Circuit of the Americas, where the Dutchman, enraged, recovered to add his thirteenth victory of the year, with which he equals the record of Michael Schumacher (2004) and Sebastian Vettel (2013). After 19 races, this 68.4% success rate is terrifyingly illuminating.
There was nothing Hamilton could do, who on lap 34 launched a blast with the undercut, leading virtually. For greater ridicule of Mad Max, charles leclerc had also beaten him by the hand in the pit lane. So furious was he that the engineers of Christian Horner they must have lowered his spirits: “We are in this together, so concentrate, because there is a lot ahead”. Stung in pride, the two-time champion launched himself like a man possessed by Leclerc. And as much as the Monegasque resisted, he had to give way at turn 12. From there, Verstappen accelerated towards Hamilton, somewhat tender in defending him. The great leader of F1 was able to pay tribute to Dietrich Mateschitzfounder of Red Bull, who died on Saturday.
Far from glory, almost light years away, had been Carlos Sainzauthor of an erratic exit from the pole. In the first corner, when he was closing the corner in search of more traction, his Ferrari suffered the onslaught of George Russell. The problem went beyond a puncture or a dent in the aerodynamics. Riccardo Adami, track engineer, had immediately detected the water leak in the radiator. “It’s unbelievable. I don’t even know what happened,” admitted Carlos, whose sorrow must not have diminished when he learned of Russell’s five-second penalty, the lightest within the reach of the stewards.
Plan E for Leclerc
The Mercedes driver wasn’t even taking the hint as he battled with sergio prez for third place, in a reissue of his great pique by Paul Ricard. After completing the punishment, during his first pit stop, will rejoin runway ninth. Knock out the author of the polewith a block out of place, had not been very burdensome.
With that disheartening prospect at Ferrari, Leclerc at least made up six positions in 12 laps to sit sixth, with a brilliant maneuver against Sebastian Vettel. As his rivals passed by boxes, the Monegasque came within three seconds of Hamilton’s third place, showing that the degradation of his tires was going better than expected. That is, when they told him that his strategy should stick to Plan E, after discarding the previous four, he must have smiled sardonically.
If there were no incentives, beyond the fright of Nicholas Latifi by a gust of wind, the excursion through the gravel of Valtteri Bottas attracted all at once. That safety car favored, among others, Leclerc and Fernando Alonso, which they took advantage of to renew their footwear. A mirage for the Asturian, who suffered a terrible accident on lap 22. When he prepares to surpass Lance Stroll on the backstretch, the Canadian got in his way.
With the only support of the rear wheels and the nose pointing towards the sky, Alonso did enough minimizing the lateral impact against the wall. When they inquired about his condition, not a single voice reached him: “I maneuvered too late.” No more reproaches, at least on record, against his next teammate at Aston Martin. That unheard-of clumsiness, deserving of severe punishment, soiled the Canadian’s career, who had even dared to attack the favorites.
With the front spoiler shattered and the geometry of the car totally altered, Alonso did quite a bit to reach the garage. Continuing in the race seemed, simply, a miracle. But Alonso still mustered the courage to overtake Kevin Magnussen, just as his left mirror was falling apart. He wanted to hunt the points, while keeping the pass at bay. lando norris, banner of McLaren, a great rival in the Constructors’ World Cup. He only fulfilled one of the premises, but this seventh place should fill him with pride.
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