Austin - Race

After a great sprint and a tense qualifying session, the time came for the main event of the weekend: the 19th Grand Prix of the season. Nineteen drivers lined up on the grid under the blasting Texan sun, with Russel set to begin his race from the pit lane after the Mercedes mechanics spent the night working on his car which suffered significant damage following his qualifying crash. The lights went off, the engines revved, and the race began.  

Norris and Verstappen quickly focused on each other, leaving the perfect opportunity for another driver to perform a courageous move. Leclerc was the one to do it and his bravery was rewarded with the race lead. After a quick shuffle, Verstappen placed himself right behind him with Sainz at Norris at 3rd and 4th respectively. Further down the order, Gasly and Piastri as well as Ocon and Albon made contact, with Ocon taking a bit of a spin. 

By the end of the first lap, Hamilton managed to make up 5 places but his luck was quick to run out. An unfortunate mistake on lap 2 caused him to go deep into the gravel. He tried to get back on track but couldn't quite manage to get his car moving, finishing his day much earlier than anyone had anticipated. The incident brought out the first safety car since the Canadian Grand Prix. 

The safety car ended at lap 5 and racing at full speed resumed, this time without the 7-time-world champion. Verstappen kept on Leclerc's tail and tried to find a way past the Ferrari, but Leclerc's skillful defense kept him at the front of the pack. The Monegasque kept increasing his lead over the rest of the field. 

Lap 14 saw the first pit stop, brought on by Zhou. His tire change opened the window for all those who wanted to change their tires twice throughout the race. Bottas, Albon, and Magnussen all pitted soon after the green Sauber. 

A theme that would prevail throughout the race was the different penalties being handed out by the FIA. Most of them related to pushing a driver off track, more often than not at turn 12. The first person to be punished for that exact crime was Russel who had committed it against Bottas. 

Sainz was the first one out of the top drivers to change his tires. He did so at lap 22, right on the edge of the two-stop and one-stop pit windows. He came out 5th, right in front of Perez, and with 13 seconds of clear track ahead of him. He took full advantage of his fresh tires and put Verstappen under the threat of an undercut. Sure enough, after the Dutchman's pit stop, he came out behind the Ferrari. Leclerc also bolted on new tires around this time and his temporary loss of the lead gave McLaren a provisional 1-2. 

Even though they hadn't yet pitted, the difference between them and Leclerc wasn't big, especially with the Monegasque getting faster with each lap. He managed to close up on Piastri by lap 31 and would have probably caught up to Norris as well if the Brit hadn't dove into the pits for a stop of his own. Either way, Leclerc was back in the lead and with a nice gap between himself and Sainz in P2. 

At that point, the only drivers out of the top ten who hadn't pitted were Russel, Lawson, and Colapinto. The two 'rookies' found themselves in 7th and 8th, an incredibly impressive result, especially for Lawson who began the race at P19 after a penalty inherited from his predecessor. 

Two more 5-second penalties were issued at that point of the race. Gasly received one for leaving the track and gaining an advantage, while Tsunoda got his for pushing Albon off track. This was especially frustrating for the VCARB driver, as it put his young teammate in front of him. This both confused and angered Tsunoda who couldn't quite understand how did Lawson appear in front of him, despite starting 9 places further down the grid. The New Zealander overtook Gasly and found himself in the points, a fact which was great for VCARB and unfortunate for Haas. After Saturday's sprint the two teams found themselves with the exact same amount of points in the championship (34) so the postion after the weekend at COTA depended solely on who was to come out on top in the race. Thanfully for Haas, Hulkenberg was both within the points and ahead of Lawson. 

While the Ferraris were rather comfortable in the front, an interesting fight began brewing behind them. After his pit stop Norris came out a few seconds behind Verstappen but on much fresher tires. He decreased the gap between the two with every corner, getting ever closer to his main championship rival. By lap 43 the lap decreased to 1,5s and by lap 45 it was already less than a second. 

At lap 47 Norris began his first attempt at overtaking Verstappen. For a few corners the two went wheel to wheel, always only a few milimeters away from disaster. In the end, it was Verstappen's defensive driving that prevailed. Norris fell a bit behind, but it wasn't for long. On lap 51, at 12 that had seen so many overtakes and overtake attemprs, Norris attacked once more. This time he managed to find a way past Verstappen but did so off track. A question quickly appeared on the minds of all the viewers. Would the stewards give him a penalty or would they decide that he was forced off track and therfore the overtake was perfectly within his rights? 

Of course, each driver argued their case through the radio as the incident was confirmed to be noted and under investigation. McLaren decided not to give the position back and risk a penalty. The two cars drove the last few laps in the reversed order, eagerly awaiting a decision. It came at the very end of the race. Norris was given a 5-second penalty which pushed him off the podium in favour of Verstappen. The Dutchman's championship lead increased once more. 

The real stars of the race were the two Ferraris. A combination of well-thought out strategy and great driving allowed them to secure a 1-2 race, to the joy of Tifosi all around the world. For the third time this season Leclerc stood at the top step of the podium, this time with Sainz right by his side. 

All the bells rang in Maranello as the Italian anthem played in the Texas heat.

The moment was important not only for the drivers but also for their team as it brought down the constructors' championship gap between Ferrari and Red Bull to only 8 points. Lawson and Colapinto, the 2024 'rookies' both scored points. Haas recorded its best score at home soil with Hulkenberg's P8 adding 4 points to their tally.

Order of the grid:

1. Charles Leclerc

2. Carlos Sainz

3. Max Verstappen

4. Lando Norris 

5. Oscar Piastri 

6. George Russel

7. Sergio Perez

8. Nico Hulkenberg

9. Liam Lawson

10. Franco Colapinto 

11. Kevin Magnussen

12. Pierre Gasly

13. Fernando Alonso 

14. Yuki Tsunoda

15. Lance Stroll

16. Alex Albon 

17. Valtteri Bottas 

18. Esteban Ocon

19. Zhou Guanyu 

DNF: Lewis Hamilton