Preview GP America: Are rivals already raising the white flag before the race?

“It’s going to be fun and interesting anyway,” Max Verstappen said with a hint of humor and caution after winning the sprint race at the US GP on Saturday afternoon. The world champion was forced to play catch-up in the main event due to his sixth starting position. A Circuit of the Americas show might need that more.

If sprint racing is an accurate reflection of the true balance of power, as some experts doubt it is, then Max Verstappen’s failure to start from the best starting position is a blessing for fans and millions of television viewers. In the sprint event, where the world champion started from pole, Lewis Hamilton held some pace at the start, but lost almost a second a lap later when Verstappen gave him some more gas. The difference in fastest lap times between the two? One and a half seconds. More than an eternity in Formula 1.

This indicates the dominance of the RB19 in Verstappen’s hands. Mercedes, Ferrari and McLaren will have their qualifying pace on Friday and Saturday, race pace – an aspect where Red Bull’s challenger excels – is a different story. “It’s traditionally good for us,” Red Bull’s CEO noted Friday after qualifying. The Austrian hopes Verstappen can also win from sixth place in Texas. In Miami he won from P9 in early May. “If anyone can do it, it’s Max.”

As the sprint changed after the race, Marco was not alone in his prediction. “There’s a good chance that Max will finish higher than where he starts,” Hamilton confided after the sprint race. “He’s at least half a second faster than all the cars in front of him.” Like the Briton, barring incidents or mechanical failures, Verstappen will be driven by Ferrari’s Mercedes or McLaren in 2023. None of his team-mates believed the year could hold him back on his way to his fifteenth GP win and the fiftieth of his career.The question was how long it would take him to pass the five cars in front of him.

The fight for second place in the US

The battle for other places of honor will be very interesting. Mercedes and Ferrari are locked in a fierce battle for second place in the constructors’ championship, which at the end of the day is good for a few extra millions from Formula 1’s well-stocked prize pool. Then there’s Hamilton’s battle with Verstappen’s team-mate Sergio Perez. The Briton is still second in the world championships as his Mexican teammate has lost some points along the way. Hamilton’s starting position (P3) for the US GP further narrows the margin over Perez’s (P7).

What else you should know:
– Polesitter Charles Leclerc drives his 100th Grand Prix for Ferrari at the Circuit of the Americas. He is the sixth driver in the Italian racing team to achieve this milestone
-Lando Norris and George Russell are also celebrating an anniversary: ​​the race in Austin was their hundredth in Formula 1.
The weather forecast for the race looks good: temperatures will rise above thirty degrees again
-The American Grand Prix starts at 9:00pm Dutch time and can be watched live on Viaplay

Read all about the United States GP, including the full schedule, here

Special Champion Edition Formula 1 Magazine Now in stores. You can order the magazine digitally, with free delivery throughout the Netherlands! Read all about Max Verstappen’s special World Cup trilogy, with exclusive photography from our in-house photographer Peter van Egmond.

Also included in this issue are:

• Exclusive interview Dutch national coach Ronald Koeman: ‘Max reminds me of Messi’
• Red Bull team principal Christian Horner continues to marvel: ‘Max has run out of all superlatives’
• Photo series: Verstappen’s fast track to third world title
• The state-of-the-art F1 track of John Lammers and son Rene
• Gallery: A very beautiful image by resident photographer Peter van Egmond
• Columns by Noel Ummels and Nelson Valkenburg
• F1 insider Graham Watson on FOM’s commercial interest in a new superstar
  And all about Max Verstappen’s championship weekend in Qatar!