Verstappen won the US GP despite a failed pit stop

– It was a difficult race. Everything went great, but the pit stop was longer than we thought. I had to fight again to get back. We gave our all today. It was a very difficult weekend for us. The victory is dedicated to Dietrich himself for everything he has done for us. The only thing we could do today was win, even if after the pit stop it didn’t look so good, says Verstappen in the track interview.

Billionaire Dietrich Mateschitz, 78, founder of Red Bull Racing, died yesterday after a long illness.

From first to fourth place after the visit to the pits

On lap 36 (of 56), Verstappen, who had already secured the world title, returned to the pits starting from the command. There was a failed tire change and the Dutchman was no better than fourth when he came out of the pits and started a furious hunt for lost positions. It was the left front tire that made a mess. The stop, which should have lasted about 3-4 seconds, took eleven seconds.

On lap 50, Verstappen caught up with Lewis Hamilton who was in the lead and overtook him. Hamilton tried to respond and push inside in a couple of corners, but Verstappen managed to hold off. In the final laps, Verstappen was warned that there could be a penalty if he drove within the track’s white markings. Hamilton was also warned of the “limits of the track”.

– It was so close and I gave it all I had, says Hamilton.

Crash stopped the race on lap 22

On lap 22, Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll were involved in a crash, a “high speed crash”. Alonso was about to overtake Stroll and came from behind and ran into Stroll, who spun and crashed into the barrier where, among other things, a tire broke off and the car was badly dented.

Alonso’s car lifted up and slid forward with the rear tires before crashing into the barrier on the opposite side as well. Despite the incident, Alonso managed to continue the race and finished seventh after climbing.

Many objects were scattered on the track and the safety car entered. The race was stopped and the rubble was removed. Alonso stated on the radio that he was fine and at the same time thought that Stroll had pushed the car to the side too late and thus caused the collision.