The United States Grand Prix held at the Circuit of The Americas is over and it was the race of the year. This year, both Ferrari drivers were on the podium after 18 years. Charles Leclerc proves himself to be the ‘il Predestinato’ again.
Did the Qualifying session give us a false idea
During qualifying, McLaren, was not up to their usual winning pace. Red Bull on the other hand were very competitive.
Throughout qualifying, McLaren was trying to find good pace. Ferrari on the other hand was soaring past all other cars. In the last few minutes of qualifying, all cars left the pit to do one final lap.
Norris was out first and set a lap time, but unfortunately for George Russell and Max Verstappen, George spun out on Turn 19 and went into the wall, causing a yellow flag. Max had to slow down, which ended his chances of qualifying on Pole, while Ferrari locked out the second row at COTA.
Finally the time for the race rolls around
The race started, Norris got a slightly better start off the line than Max and Leclerc. But, Norris did not protect the inside line, allowing Max to move ahead at the apex of Turn 1. While the two championship contenders were fighting for 1st place, Leclerc saw the opportunity to take the normal racing line. Leclerc overtook both Norris and Verstappen in the very first turn, seizing the lead of the race.
Leclerc used all the pace the car could provide to increase the gap between him and Verstappen to more than 1 second. Verstappen was now out of the DRS advantage, and it was apparent that the Red Bull was still not operating at its peak performance as the Monegasque continued to eke out the gap between him and the Dutchman.
When it came time to pit, Leclerc was ahead of Verstappen by almost 8 seconds and Verstappen had lost the opportunity to undercut Charles.
Blazing Ferraris with great pace on race day
Scuderia Ferrari Instagram page
Max Verstappen held second place only until Lap 25, when he pitted. But, the “Smooth Operator” of F1 had already pit in Lap 20, to undercut Max, a move that successfully pulled off.
Ferrari’s SF 24 showed amazing race pace, as theRB20 proved to be no match for it. Charles Leclerc from the very start of the race continued to increase the gap between him and Verstappen. Carlos Sainz, the moment he was ahead if Max Verstappen also increased the gap between him and the champion.
Title fight between Norris and Verstappen
The title fight between Lando Norris and Max Verstappen was again extended. Max Verstappen after pitting in Lap 25 was 5th and after both theMcLaren’s pit, was 3rd.
Lando Norris soon caught up with Max and in the last 6 laps of the race, the fans saw Lando trying to overtake Max. In the second to last lap, Norris and Verstappen were very close at the exit of turn 12, and Norris finally had the chance to overtake in the DRS zone.
At the end of the back straight, Norris had the outside, and he braked late to overtake. But Max, being one to never back down, braked hard and both drivers went off track. Norris pulled ahead outside the track.
The British driver sporting the papaya livery, eked out a gap of 4 seconds from the Dutchman, but was given a penalty of 5 seconds for going off track and gaining an advantage.
Thus, Max Verstappen finished 3rd.
True impact of Ferrari’s victory at COTA
Carlos Sainz official Instagram page
Ferrari’s win at COTA is due to the expert skill and management of tires by the Monagasque and the Smooth Operator. Both Ferrari drivers kept up an amazing pace and maintained their position. After a long time, Ferrari’s pit wall had a good pit strategy leading to both drivers not losing to a bad strategy.
The ‘il Predestinato’ lead the race from lap 1 Turn 1 till the final lap of the race, with exceptional talent. Charles Leclerc had once told a white lie to his dying father that Ferrari had signed him as a Formula 1 driver. Now, he is living out his father’s dream of seeing his son in a Ferrari seat, and he has proven himself worthy time and again of the Signature red colour.