Max Verstappen won his third sprint out of the five already contested this year in Austin on Saturday. At the Circuit of the Americas, the Dutchman strolled as he had previously done at Spielberg and Spa-Francorchamps. The only difference is that he did not have to fight as much as in Austria, where he put an aggressive Sergio Pérez in his place at the start. Nor in Belgium, where in the rain, his delayed pit stop had just forced him to pass troublemaker Oscar Piastri (McLaren).
On the Texan track, he still gave himself a muscular pass as he likes, copiously tackling Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) on the left part of the track at kick-off, in order to repel the assault of the rossa. This done with the delicacy that we know him to be, he plunged into the descent of the esses with – oh surprise – Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) on his heels. For a 19 lap ride? Not so fast. He drove through the swirling Austin air with the No. 44 Mercedes in his DRS zone for five laps, an eternity on the scale of this victory-loving man.
The wind delayed the escape
In the 7th round, we saw that the suspense was over. That we had to look elsewhere to find interest in a race which was still singularly lacking. But not seen from the cockpit of RB19 n°1, to hear it upon arrival.
“Yes, it was tight, but we left ourselves enough room at the first corner, commented the man with 49 Grand Prix victories about his lightning duel with Charles Leclerc. After that, we were able to go like we wanted. I was even able to enjoy myself at the end because I was able to attack a little more. He (Hamilton) stayed a few tenths behind in the first part of the race, and with the wind here, the DRS is really powerful. As soon as I was able to get him out of my DRS zone, the pace was very good.”
Pleasant, this success also provided him with indications for Sunday, and that is perhaps the most important thing. Her ride allowed her to learn more about “medium” tires with a view to her recovery from this sixth qualifying place which really upset her. Annoyed on Friday by his generosity at turn 19, during 19 laps he found answers to the questions that the entire Austrian team was asking with him. Verdict? “I’m going to need a good pace on Sunday starting from sixth place. Of course I want to win here!” Surprising, right?
Stay ahead of Verstappen on Sunday
For his part, Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) told the other side of the story. That of the hunter filled with hope who ended up losing his prey. “The race was fun,” said the 38-year-old Englishman in front of a loving crowd who saw him triumph on six Sundays since the inauguration of the event in 2012. “I got off to a good start, until ‘at turn 1. It was a great battle with Charles [Leclerc]. I’ve been trying to keep up with Max, but his pace is just incredible right now. We’re a little closer this weekend, but whatever happens I’m happy with this result. On Sunday we will be ahead of him on the grid, but he won’t take too long to come back. We are ready for a great battle with Charles and Lando [Norris]. We are pretty close in rhythm to each other. If we could keep Max behind us, that would be incredible.” Mission impossible? Not so sure.
And then, more instructively, the record holder for victories and pole positions confided that he had gained information from his pursuit. “I was in the front row to observe the Red Bull and see what Max’s car was doing and how it behaved,” he explained, during a conference on Viaplay. “I took advantage of it for a while and I saw where they were particularly fast, what we can see on GPS and stuff like that, but it helps to realize where we are and if there is a place where we are stronger or weaker. I’m going to record this and share it with my team.”
2023-10-22 08:14:00
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