Austin Grand Prix: Verstappen gets into the title fight and Alpine once again scores zero

From pole position, Max Verstappen left no room for surprises and once again demonstrated his supremacy in Formula 1. The Red Bull driver dominated the United States Grand Prix, held at the Circuit of the Americas, to complete a perfect weekend after also winning the sprint race.

At the start, Verstappen firmly defended his lead against Charles Leclerc, who had opted for soft tires and managed to overtake Lando Norris at the first corner. Further back, Lewis Hamilton and Oscar Piastri gained positions over George Russell, while Franco Colapinto lost ground to Gabriel Bortoleto and Esteban Ocon, although later he regained a position by overtaking the Frenchman.

The development of the race did not present major shocks for Verstappen, who quickly opened a gap of more than six seconds over his pursuers. The incident between Carlos Sainz and Andrea Kimi Antonelli on lap 6 forced the appearance of the Virtual Safety Car, but not even that neutralization altered the dominance of the three-time world champion.

In the battle for the podium places, Norris managed to overtake Leclerc on lap 21, while Hamilton was closing in with a solid pace from behind. Ferrari opted for strategy with an early pit stop, but it was not enough to stop the advance of the McLarens.

Verstappen managed his advantage with composure after his only stop on lap 34 and crossed the finish line with more than ten seconds to spare, achieving his third victory in the last four Grands Prix and reducing the gap to just 40 points with Piastri in the drivers' standings.

Meanwhile, Norris finished second and Leclerc completed the podium, giving Ferrari its first top 3 since Belgium. Further back, Hamilton finished fourth, Piastri was fifth, and the top ten were completed by Russell, Tsunoda, Hülkenberg, Bearman, and Alonso.

Meanwhile, Colapinto finished 17th, after overtaking Pierre Gasly in the final laps despite team orders from Alpine instructing him to maintain position at the end of the race. The Argentine, who had been as high as 11th before his stop, once again showed character in a demanding race in Austin, but his single-seater let him down again.

Drivers' and Constructors' Standings after Austin

Drivers:

1. Oscar Piastri (McLaren) - 346 points
2. Lando Norris (McLaren) - 332 points
3. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) - 306 points
4. George Russell (Mercedes) - 252 points
5. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) - 192 points
6. Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) - 142 points
7. Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) - 89 points
8. Alex Albon (Williams) - 73 points
9. Nico Hulkenberg (Kick Sauber) - 41 points
10. Isack Hadjar (Racing Bulls) - 39 points
11. Carlos Sainz (Williams) - 38 points
12. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) - 37 points
13. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) - 32 points
14. Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls) - 30 points
15. Esteban Ocon (Haas) - 28 points
16. Yuki Tsunoda (Red Bull) - 28 points
17. PIERRE GASLY (Alpine) - 20 points
18. Gabriel Bortoleto (Kick Sauber) - 18 points
19. Oliver Bearman (Haas) - 18 points
20. FRANCO COLAPINTO (Alpine) - 0 points
21. JACK DOOHAN (Alpine) - 0 points

Constructors:

1. McLaren (CHAMPION) - 650 points
2. Mercedes AMG F1 - 341 points
3. Ferrari - 334 points
4. Red Bull - 331 points
5. Williams - 111 points
6. Racing Bulls - 72 points
7. Aston Martin - 69 points
8. Kick Sauber - 59 points
9. Haas F1 Team - 48 points
10. ALPINE F1 TEAM - 20 points