Verstappen wins duel against Hamilton in Austin

In the USA, Max Verstappen was scared but he indeed emerged victorious from his new duel against Lewis Hamilton. Although identical, the pilot's offbeat strategy Red Bull allowed him to secure his 8th victory of the year, the 18th of his career.

This United States Grand Prix, however, did not start in the best possible way for the leader of the world championship. From a less good reaction to the lights going out, Max Verstappen saw Lewis Hamilton jump inside to take the lead at the exit of the first corner. Then the hunt for the Englishman began.

#USGP🇺🇸 Departure 💥💪

🚦 Very complicated flight for Dutchman Verstappen from Red Bull, who was not far from seeing his teammate Sergio Pérez also overtake him!

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— CANAL+ F1® (@CanalplusF1) October 24, 2021

Still placed less than a second behind the seven-time world champion and therefore in the DRS zone, the Dutchman, despite his speed on the track, decided to attempt the undercut on the 10th lap by putting on a first set of hard tires. A strategy that paid off as he regained control of the race when Lewis Hamilton passed through the pit lane three laps later.

Jos Verstappen's son then started his second stint with a gap of more than 6 seconds. A gap maintained for a good part until Lewis Hamilton increased the pace due to the better freshness of his tires. Not wanting to take any risks in this fight, Red Bull recalled Max Verstappen a second time on the 30th lap for a second and final stop for the end of the race.

#USGP????????

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— CANAL+ F1® (@CanalplusF1) October 24, 2021

Returned to the leader after the pilot stopped Mercedes at the end of the 37th of the 56 loops, the Batavian then produced an excellent third stint and managed to contain Lewis Hamilton behind as he came back like an arrow in the final laps of the GP. Although threatened as he approached the checkerboard, Max Verstappen showed great maturity by not making the slightest mistake under pressure from his rival to be the first to cross the finish line of the United States Grand Prix.

Thanks to this 8th victory of the season, the 18th of his career, Max Verstappen gives himself some breathing room in the title race and is now 12 points ahead of Lewis Hamilton with 5 rounds to go before the final whistle. Sergio Pérez completed the podium in Austin but finished more than 40 seconds behind the winner of the day.

#USGP🇺🇸 Max was the strongest 💪💥

Max Verstappen held on. It was hot, but he won with a 1''33 lead over Lewis Hamilton 👏👍

The podium is completed by Sergio Pérez (Red Bull). 🏁

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— CANAL+ F1® (@CanalplusF1) October 24, 2021

Behind, the race was rather lenient for the entire peloton. In the fight with the McLaren at the beginning, Charles Leclerc put in a solid performance in Texas to finish just off the podium. The Monegasque gave everything but his SF21, still below the Mercedes and Red Bull, did not allow him to get a Top 3 this Sunday. However, the little prince of Monaco was able to get rid of Daniel Ricciardo et Lando Norris to experience a relatively calm GP. These last two cities were respectively ranked 5th and 8th with Valtteri Bottas et Carlos Sainz interspersed between them. Note the fine performance of Yuki tsunoda which brings two very important points to Alpha Tauri in battle with Alpine for 5th place among the Manufacturers. His teammate Pierre Gasly was forced to retire due to a suspension problem. Left 18th, Sebastian Vettel earned the point for 10th place.

#USGP????????

Suspension problems for Pierre Gasly

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— CANAL+ F1® (@CanalplusF1) October 24, 2021

In the hard everything since Friday, Fernando Alonso et Esteban Ocon were also in the race this Sunday. Plagued by various technical and mechanical problems, representatives ofAlpine did not see the finish, thus ending a series of 15 consecutive Grands Prix with at least one car in the points for the French team. Without much surprise, Nicholas latifi, Mick Schumacher et Nikita mazepin brought up the rear of this United States Grand Prix.

F1 now heads to Mexico and the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez for the 18th round of the season in two weeks. In the meantime, find the analysis of this United States Grand Prix by our specialists in the N°2335 of AUTOhebdo available this Monday evening in digital version and on newsstands Wednesday.