With summaryMax Verstappen took revenge at the start of Sprint Saturday for his unfortunate qualifying on Friday. The Dutchman, who was already fastest in qualifying, but because he had Path boundaries He passed him on the top lap, dropped to sixth, and a day later it was all official at the Circuit of the Americas. He gave himself the best credentials to win what should be his first US Grand Prix victory.
Naude Bemelen, Maren Abenhuis
Verstappen faced a dicey moment in the second session of the shootout. Since he had already set the fastest time, he lost control of his Red Bull while trying to improve it. He spun and pivoted completely, but managed to keep his car off the wall and keep driving. As a result, he eventually passed the second session without any problems and as the fastest. This also applies to his teammate Sergio Perez, Ferraris, McLaren and Mercedes. Both Aston Martin drivers were very disappointing, just like yesterday in qualifying.
This means that Fernando Alonso will find it very difficult to pick up points from 12th in the US Grand Prix sprint race. The person who would usually do that is Verstappen. The Dutchman took revenge on penalties for his unfortunate qualification the day before. He was fastest in every session and at the end 0.05 seconds ahead of Charles Leclerc.
Anyway, it was another good performance for Ferrari in Monaco. The race starts from pole position and the sprint races diagonally behind the world champion. Lewis Hamilton completed the podium in the shootout and can compete with Verstappen and Leclerc from third. He could also pursue more aggressively Perez, who is currently second, but starts the sprint from seventh.
However, Verstappen himself was happy with his penalty shootout victory. “We were really competitive in the qualifiers,” he said, looking at the sixth place he finished the day before. This arose because his fastest lap was canceled because he exceeded the track limits. “The car is in good condition. I’m looking forward to a fun afternoon with so many cars getting close to each other in the sprint race. We usually do well in the race, but this track demands a lot from the car. Tire management is always important here, and we won’t “You are at full speed throughout the entire race.”
However, with his victory he immediately sent a signal to his rivals, who yesterday received a glimmer of hope for victory in tomorrow’s main race. His speed early Saturday afternoon proved they can’t get rid of him just yet.
20:15
yesterday
P1 for Verstappen
Max Verstappen won the Sprint Shootout thus giving himself the best starting position for the Sprint Race later in the evening! Charles Leclerc, Lewis Hamilton and Lando Norris were very close.
20:14
yesterday
No, Leclerc is 0.055 seconds short! Sainz is much further along.
20:13
yesterday
Verstappen sets 1.34.538.
Norris ends up in 10th place and Piastri doesn’t make it either. What do Ferrari cars do? Leclerc purple in the second sector.
20:12
yesterday
Norris is faster than Max in the first sector! What would this be?
20:09
yesterday
Verstappen will be there first! McLaren chooses its wheel, cyclists say. So they get one round.
20:08
yesterday
We have no action on Texas asphalt for the first few minutes. We were a little afraid that they would all go for one round.
20:06
yesterday
Start SQ3
To the height of the “Sprint Shootout”! The men only have 8 minutes. Do they go for one or two tries? However, Verstappen still has a new set of soft tyres.
20:01
yesterday
End of SQ2
No, Hamilton will be there in a moment. The same cannot be said for Ricciardo, Alonso, Ocon, Stroll and Cho. So no big surprises, although Alonso’s P12 was of course a disappointment (again).
19:59
yesterday
After improving, Hamilton “only” reached eighth place. Will it cost him his head?
19:59
yesterday
Spin Verstappen
In fact, exiting Turn 9, he spun for a moment, before quickly taking control of his RB19. Go to the pit lane, it was safe after all.
19:58
yesterday
What happened to Verstappen? Did he have a spider? However, we can see from his tires that he did not stay on the asphalt.
19:55
yesterday
So the different teams only go for one round in this second part. Russell, Albon, Alonso, Ocon, Hamilton, Gasly and Ricciardo don’t have time at all yet. One mistake along the way and they’re gone.
19:53
yesterday
Max is the first to set the time: 1.35.181 from the Dutchman. Two-tenths faster than Leclerc, roughly four-tenths ahead of Sainz and half a second behind Perez, at the moment.
Some modifications were still underway at Mercedes. They’re still inside.
19:49
yesterday
Start SQ2
Here we go again, this time with 10 minutes on the clock! Verstappen is the first driver to drown.
19:48
yesterday
Also nice: we just had nineteen (!) cars within one second of each other. Very small margins.
While Russell and Mercedes will be investigated after the session for their possible interference with Leclerc.
19:45
yesterday
End of SQ1
Striking at the end of Part One: Piastri just succeeds. The outing in turn continues to go well, just as Ricardo sees his (unhappy) teammate Tsunoda losing weight. This also applies to Hülkenberg, Magnussen, Bottas and home driver Sargeant.
19:41
yesterday
Just before the end of SQ1, the following drivers are in Danger area: Bottas, Magnussen, Ricciardo, Stroll and Sargent.
19:37
yesterday
This is a great first round from Verstappen. He has three tenths ahead of Leclerc: 1,35,997. His teammate Perez also performed well in his wake, but ended up in fifth place.
Rory McIlroy, one of the Alpine team’s new investors, is also seen from the garage.
19:36
yesterday
The Ferraris are already there, with Leclerc now in first place: 1.36.302. Verstappen opens his first timed lap as we speak.
19:34
yesterday
Hamilton opens the ball with 1.36.402. Norris comes within three-tenths. It won’t be long before things get a little faster again, if of course there is more grip on the track.
Result, standings and programme
Watch here Grand Prize Results From this year, Ranking in the general classification in the program For the rest of the season.
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