2024 Formula 1 United States Grand Prix Highlights

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Introduction

 

Charles Leclerc took a flawless victory in the 2024 Formula 1 United States Grand Prix, the Monegasque leading Ferrari teammate Carlos Sainz in a one-two after storming through into the lead on the opening lap, while a tense late-race battle between Lando Norris and Max Verstappen saw Norris receive a penalty and drop to fourth behind his title rival.

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Pole-sitter Norris initially looked to have held the lead off the line when the lights went out for the 56-lap encounter, but the McLaren went side-by-side with Verstappen into the first corner, which led to the Briton being pushed wide, allowing Leclerc to sneak through and snatch P1.

From there, the Monegasque enjoyed an unchallenged drive to victory, while teammate Sainz benefitted from an undercut to put himself into second place ahead of Verstappen following his pit stop, the Spaniard putting in a solid drive to cross the line 8.5s back from Leclerc.

As the race entered into its final stages, Norris overtook Verstappen for P3 following a fiercely close duel between the championship rivals – but the nature of the move prompted discussion over the radio, with Verstappen and Red Bull claiming that Norris had overtaken outside of the track limits.

This ultimately saw Norris receive a five-second time penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage, dropping him down from third to fourth and promoting Verstappen to the final podium position.

Oscar Piastri took fifth behind his McLaren teammate, while George Russell worked his way up to sixth in the Mercedes after starting from the pit lane. Sergio Perez added to Red Bull’s points tally in seventh, ahead of Haas’s Nico Hulkenberg in eighth.

Liam Lawson scored two points by finishing P9 on his first weekend back on the grid for RB, while Franco Colapinto was an impressive P10 for Williams. Kevin Magnussen missed out in P11 for Haas, with Alpine’s Pierre Gasly behind in P12 from Fernando Alonso in P13 for Aston Martin.

Yuki Tsunoda slotted into 14th for RB, having dropped backwards following a spin, while Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll was 15th in front of Alex Albon in 16th, a disappointing result for the Williams driver on his 100th race start.

The Kick Saubers of Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu again missed out on breaking their points duck down in P17 and P19, with the Alpine of Esteban Ocon – who claimed the fastest lap late on to take a point away from previous holder Colapinto – sandwiched between them in P18.

Lewis Hamilton, meanwhile, was the sole retiree after spinning off track early in the race and beaching his Mercedes in the gravel.

Mario Isola, Motorsport Director, Pirelli:

First, congratulations to Ferrari for an excellent one-two finish in a country that has always been very important for the Prancing Horse. On the tyre front, it was an exciting Sunday because of the technical insights it provided. Based on previous data and from what we learned in yesterday’s Sprint, when the Medium demonstrated a very high wear rate, combined with what we knew from this race last year, a one-stop did not seem viable. Yet, it proved to be the winning strategy and almost the only one adopted by the field. As for the behaviour of the Medium, the Safety Car following Hamilton going off the track in the early stages meant that those who had started on this compound could extend their stint, while it also meant the tyres were put under less stress during the crucial early stages when the cars are running with a heavy fuel load.

2023 Formula 1 United States Grand Prix

There were two other elements to consider: the significant evolution of the track condition, with much of it resurfaced leading to a major reduction in graining compared to what we saw in the Sprint and then the changes the teams were able to make to their set-up, based on what they learned yesterday.

The day on the track:

Fifteen drivers opted to start on the Medium tyre, with the Sauber drivers, Bottas and Zhou, going with a used set. Five others, Hamilton and Russell in the Mercedes, Stroll (Aston Martin), Colapinto (Williams) and Lawson (Racing Bulls) lined up on Hard tyres. As expected, the Soft was not considered, although Ocon (Alpine) fitted them right at the very end to deprive Colapinto in the Williams of picking up the point for the race’s fastest lap, a mission successfully accomplished by the Alpine driver.

The one-stop was the preferred strategy for the vast majority of drivers. Apart from the previously mentioned Ocon, only Zhou and Magnussen (Haas) made two planned stops, while Albon (Williams) had to stop in the early stages to take on a second set of Mediums.

2023 Formula 1 United States Grand Prix

Russell and Bottas both drove the longest stints of all, driving 40 laps on the Hard, the Englishman on his first stint, the Finn on his second. Piastri, who went 32 laps in the McLaren, completed the longest run on the Medium Tyre.

2024 Formula 1 United States Grand Prix Race Results

Pos No Driver Country Team Time Points Overall
1. 16 Charles Leclerc Monaco Scuderia Ferrari 1:35:09.639 25 275
2. 55 Carlos Sainz Spain Scuderia Ferrari +8.562s 18 215
3. 1 Max Verstappen Netherlands Red Bull Racing +19.412s 15 354
4. 4 Lando Norris Great Britain Mclaren Racing +20.354s 12 297
5. 81 Oscar Piastri Australia McLaren Racing +21.921s 10 247
6. 63 George Russell Great Britain Mercedes-AMG Petronas +56.295s 8 167
7. 11 Sergio Perez Mexico Red Bull Racing +59.072s 6 150
8. 27 Nico Hulkenberg Germany Haas F1 Team +62.957s 4 29
9. 30 Liam Lawson New Zealand Visa Cash App F1 Team +70.563s 2 2
10. 43 Franco Colapinto Argentina Williams Racing +71.979s 1 5
11. 20 Kevin Magnussen Denmark Haas F1 Team +71.979s 0 8
12. 10 Pierre Gasly France Alpine F1 Team +90.558s 0 8
13. 14 Fernando Alonso Spain Aston Martin F1 Team +1 lap 0 62
14. 22 Yuki Tsunoda Japan Visa Cash App F1 Team +1 lap 0 22
15. 18 Lance Stroll Canada Aston Martin F1 Team +1 lap 0 24
16. 23 Alexander Albon Thailand Williams Racing DNF 0 12
17. 77 Valtteri Bottas Finland Kick Sauber F1 Team +1 lap 0 0
18. 31 Esteban Ocon France Alpine F1 Team +1 lap 0 5
19. 24 Zhou Guanyu China Kick Sauber F1 Team +1 lap 0 0
20. 44 Lewis Hamilton Great Britain Mercedes-AMG Petronas DNF 0 177

2024 Constructor Standings

Pos Team Points
1. McLaren Racing 544
2. Red Bull Racing 504
3. Scuderia Ferrari 496
4. Mercedes-AMG Petronas 344
5. Aston Martin F1 Team 86
6. Haas F1 Team 38
7. Visa Cash App F1 Team 36
8. Williams Racing 17
9. Alpine F1 Team 13
10. Kick Sauber F1 Team 0

Here are the team-by-team highlights:

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