Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) won the United States Grand Prix, 19e of the 24 rounds of the Formula 1 world championship on Sunday at the Circuit of the Americas. The Spaniard Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) and the Dutchman and triple world champion Max Verstappen (Red Bull) complete the top 3 of the race in Austin while the Briton Lando Norris (McLaren), victim of a penalty in the last lap , finished at the foot of the podium.
Taking advantage of the battle between Verstappen and Norris, the Monegasque won the eighth victory of his career and the third of the season after Monaco and Monza.
In the World Drivers’ Championship standings, Verstappen maintains the lead with 354 points, 57 more than Norris (297). Leclerc takes the opportunity to get closer to second place with his 275 points and distance himself from the Australian Oscar Piastri (McLaren), 4th with 247 points.
From the start of the race, Verstappen tried to overtake Norris in the first corner but this attempt benefited Charles Leclerc who took the lead of the race. After only two laps, the safety car was on the circuit after Briton Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) went off the track on lap N.19, forced to retire in the process.
In the rest of the race, Leclerc controlled the tempo at the front by maintaining a good lead of more than five seconds over Sainz, while managing his pit stops and his tires.
Ten laps from the end of the Grand Prix, Verstappen, leader in the championship standings, saw Norris getting closer and closer in his mirrors. The Dutchman, who warned his race engineer that he was having difficulties with his tires, was trying as best he could to keep his great British rival of the season at bay, despite the DRS.
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Norris, who made his move three laps from the finish, ultimately finished behind Verstappen in the race standings after being the victim of a penalty for overtaking his opponent out of track. This situation has raised tensions between Max Verstappen and Lando Norris. “I was in front of him in the braking zone,” Norris said on Canal+. “He pushed me off the track, he also got off it. » “I didn’t push anyone out, I didn’t touch them,” Verstappen defended. “. I tried to turn the corner. It’s just racing. We are not in the acclimatization garden. »
