F1 US GP, Verstappen is back: pole in the Sprint ahead of Russell, Leclerc 3rd

It’s mini, but still a pole and wears Max’s colors. Is the cannibal back? After almost a month’s break since the last Singapore GP, F1 restarts from Austin and in the name of Verstappen. The Red Bull driver sends a strong signal to his opponents: he hasn’t won since June, in 8 races, but he doesn’t give up. The break seems to have benefited him. Even if the margins are very slim (only +52 points over his rival, Lando Norris on McLaren), he remains leader of the standings with six races left in the World Championship.

Russell in the front row, then Leclerc

He wins the first starting place for the 100 km on Saturday (at 8pm Italian time). An appetizer of the actual qualifying (at midnight) for Sunday’s GP, where Max wants to dictate the law again. The three-time world champion keeps Mercedes behind by 12 thousandths George Russell (Hamilton 7th with an error caused by a yellow flag) and Ferrari by 2 tenths Charles Leclerc. Only fourth Norris (+0”250), while the other red of Carlos Sainz she is fifth (+0”256). Eliminated, not too surprisingly, the other Red Bull squire: Sergio Perez 11th. Max smiles, finally: “Good day, even if sprint qualifying is always very complicated with the various tires to use, but the car worked well and I’ve missed not being first for a while.”

The controversy over the Casop T-Tray

On the new asphalt of Texas, very black and with more grip than expected, on a very selective circuit with its mix of high, medium and low speed corners, the speed cowboy will sell his life dearly. With an updated car and a champion’s lap, Max sweeps away the controversy of recent hours regarding his team who had what was defined as a “trick” on the car to adjust the height via a device in the cockpit that acts on the tray, the T-traypractically the entrance to the bottom, the part that generates aerodynamic load. With the suspicion (but without proof) that it was used in parc fermé (prohibited), it led to a tightening of controls by the federation and a “deal” with Red Bull which modified the car.

McLaren updates

McLaren, which had its own problems with a flexible rear wing and had to eliminate it after just as many controversies, wants to see more clearly on the T-tray affair. But in the meantime he has to finish a championship where he holds the lead Manufacturers ranking with 41 points ahead of the Red Bulls. The papayas also brought many updates to Austin to play the last cards of a very close fight at the top. If it is the reference car, the one that goes strong on practically every type of circuit, it has to contend with a Red Bull which, if it has fallen since mid-season, will leave no stone unturned. Verstappen has won the last three US GPs, as well as two of the previous three sprint races of the year.

Ferrari, the confidence of Vasseur

Ferraris? In the only free practices that preceded the mini qualifying, the reds (without updates) performed very well. Sainz the best, ahead (by 21 thousandths) of Leclerc. The boss half satisfied, Fred Vasseur: “So far so good, even if the result is not what we expected. We lacked a bit of pace with the soft tires in the last qualifying round, but we have it for the race to try to win.” The Scuderia remains involved in the fight for the Constructors’ title: at least for 2nd place, it is only 34 points behind Red Bull (and -75 from McLaren).