Max Verstappen Cruises at COTA to Take USGP Win

Max Verstappen won the United States Grand Prix held at Circuit of the Americas (Austin, TX) on Sunday (Oct.19) in comfortable fashion. Lando Norris overtook Charles Leclerc in the closing laps to earn second and cut into the points lead. Charles Leclerc brought Ferrari back to the podium by crossing the line in third.

Lewis Hamilton followed in fourth, with championship leader Oscar Piastri driving a quiet race and ending in fifth. George Russell drove an equally untroubled race and slotted sixth. The forever embattled Yuki Tsunoda grabbed seventh, giving Red Bull two drivers in the top 10.

Nico Hulkenberg, who endured ire from McLaren team principal Zak Brown for his start in Saturday’s sprint race, earned eight. Oliver Bearman drove the upgraded Haas to a ninth-place finish with Fernando Alonso taking the final points-paying position.

Verstappen’s win, his fifth of the season, pulls him closer to overall points leader Piastri and sets up an entertaining run to the finish for the drivers championship. Piastri sits atop with 346 points, Norris with 332, and Verstappen still vying for contention with 306.

Verstappen got away cleanly at lights out, while Charles Leclerc moved past Lando Norris into second. Lewis Hamilton managed to do the same thing to the other McLaren driver, Oscar Piastri, sliding into fourth. Russell

On Lap seven, the race saw its brief moment of chaos when Carlos Sainz rammed into the back of Kimi Antonelli, bringing out the yellow flags and a virtual safety car. While Sainz retired his car, Antonelli kept at it and ended the race in 13th.

After green flag racing resumed, Verstappen burst out to a lead of five seconds by lap 15. Behind him, Norris continued his bid for second, tangling with Leclerc. While doing so, Norris racked up his third track-limits violation. His work paid off with a pass on lap 21.

The rest of the field remained in relatively stable order, engaged in a high-speed example of follow-the-leader, with the exception of Hamilton attempting to push past Leclerc. In an effort to avoid the intra-team squabble, Ferrari called Leclerc into the pits on lap 24.

Piastri became the next of the frontrunners to pit, doing so on lap 31 with Hamilton coming next, then Norris. Verstappen and Russell pitted on lap 34.

The top 10 on lap 35: Verstappen, Leclerc, Norris, Hamilton, Piastri, Russell, Tsunoda, Hulkenberg, Bearman, Albon.

Much of the drama had been taken out of the race, barring any late-race silliness, and Verstappen held onto a seven-second lead. Norris used up his soft tires passing Leclerc and could make no inroads on the lead.

Team Principal Laurent Mekies offered the best summation of Verstappen’s race and weekend, saying, “Well done, Max. That was proper domination. What you say, you got everything this weekend.”

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Ava Lader headshot photo

As a writer and editor, Ava anchors the Formula 1 coverage for the site, while working through many of its biggest columns. Ava earned a Masters in Sports Studies at UGA and a PhD in American Studies from UH-Mānoa. Her dissertation Chased Women, NASCAR Dads, and Southern Inhospitality: How NASCAR Exports The South is in the process of becoming a book.

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