F1: Ferrari double in the United States ahead of Verstappen who resists Norris

On another planet. Charles Leclerc easily won Sunday ahead of his Ferrari teammate Carlos Sainz in the United States Grand Prix while championship leader Max Verstappen, 3rd in the race, took the opportunity to slightly increase his overall lead over his pursuer Lando Norris, who finally finished 4th.

Leclerc can savour it since on the Circuit of the Americas in Austin (Texas), he showed himself to be imperial during the 19th GP (out of 24) of the season, which he dominated head and shoulders.

When the lights went out, the Monegasque, who started 4th on the grid, took advantage of the battle in front of him between poleman Lando Norris and Verstappen to take the reins of the race right from the exit of the first bend.

The Monegasque was never worried. Not even by the intervention of the safety car on the third lap (out of 56), after the Briton Lewis Hamilton lost control of his Mercedes, forcing him to retire.

When the race restarted, Leclerc took off again ahead of the Red Bull of Verstappen, then 2nd, and Sainz.

Red Bull Racing's Dutch driver Max Verstappen battles with McLaren's British driver Lando Norris during the Formula One United States Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, on October 20, 2024 © AFP – ANGELA WEISS

“The weekend has not been easy so far, I had difficulties with the car, but today, in the race, the sensations were much better,” reacted the winner of the day at the finish.

Like Leclerc, Sainz also showed himself to be opportunistic by managing an “undercut” on Verstappen at a third of the GP – the Spaniard stopped to change his tires before the Dutchman and then overtook him when the latter stopped a few laps later.

– Norris penalized –

In front of a star-studded field including Swedish pole vault star Armand Duplantis and English music legend Sting, Verstappen and Norris put on a show at the end of the race to take third place.

The battle between the two strong drivers of the moment finally turned to the advantage of the British driver from McLaren with four laps to go. However, the latter was given a 5-second penalty at the finish, for having left the track while overtaking Verstappen, thus gaining an advantage according to the stewards.

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(L to R) Ferrari's Carlos Sainz Jr. of Spain, who finished second; Ferrari's Charles Leclerc of Monaco, who finished first; and third-placed Max Verstappen of the Netherlands celebrate on the podium after the Formula One United States Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, on October 20, 2024 © AFP – ANGELA WEISS

The Dutchman thus regained his third position at the expense of Norris, who finished fourth, ahead of teammate Oscar Piastri, who finished fifth.

“It was a tough battle,” admitted Verstappen, who declined to comment on his championship rival's penalty.

“I did everything I could to keep [Norris] behind me, but in the end, a podium is a great result,” he also said, the day after his victory in the sprint race.

The Red Bull driver now has a 57-point lead over Norris, with 146 points still to be won until the final round of the season in Abu Dhabi at the beginning of December.

Among the French team Alpine, Esteban Ocon crossed the finish line 18th. His teammate Pierre Gasly, who had a solid chance of scoring points this weekend thanks to his 6th place on the grid, finally finished 12th, due to a missed pit stop and then a penalty.

– Ferrari in the wheels of Red Bull –

For the final marathon of six rounds in eight weeks, the majority of the teams had arrived in Austin with improvements to their single-seaters, like Red Bull, in difficulty since this summer and which is looking to reduce the gap with McLaren, which took the lead in the constructors' world championship in mid-September.

If the performances of Verstappen, winner of the sprint race on Saturday, seemed to have provided initial reassuring answers to the reigning champion team, on Sunday, the triple world champion never managed to fight for victory.

Drivers compete during the Formula 1 United States Grand Prix at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, on October 20, 2024 © POOL – Patrick T. Fallon

His teammate Sergio Pérez, for his part, once again competed in an anonymous race. The Mexican finished 7th after starting 10th. He finished behind the British George Russell (Mercedes), 6th.

With two drivers in the Top 5, McLaren still made the most of a good Sunday in its fight for the constructors' title with Red Bull, and maintained a 40-point lead over the Austrian team.

Red Bull will be able to make up the lost time next weekend in Mexico, so as not to let McLaren escape definitively and especially not to be overtaken by Ferrari, which has come back to just eight points behind the team with the red bulls.

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