We offer our takeaways following each race weekend this year and continue the 2024 schedule with the United States GP.
Moments that decided the race đ
Ferrari gives us 3-way fight for constructors
We suddenly have a three-team race for the constructorsâ championship.
Ferrariâs incredible 1-2 in Austin â its first in the United States in 18 years â helped pull it within eight points of Red Bull and 48 points of McLaren.
Charles Leclerc benefited from Max Verstappenâs aggressive move on Lando Norris on Turn 1 on the opening lap and shot through the hole created by the dueling duo. Leclerc didnât look back from there, taking the checkered flag by 8.5 seconds over teammate Carlos Sainz and 19 seconds ahead of Verstappen, who hasnât won in nine races. Amazingly, thatâs the closest Verstappenâs finished to first place since the summer break.
âItâs a big day for the team and a big day for Ferrari in general,â Leclerc said. âWe demonstrated we were the fastest team on the track with race pace quite conformably.â
Ferrari looked incredible in Austin, nailing a relatively drama-free Sunday to secure its second race win in four events and first since Italy. The victory was also Leclercâs third of the season and the Scuderiaâs fourth in 2024.
While most of the focus has been on McLaren tracking down and surpassing Red Bull, Ferrariâs been chipping away at the deficit in the shadows. A lot of that has to do with Leclercâs brilliance in the second half.
Leclerc has five podiums in his last six races, sits third in the driversâ standings, and is 22 points behind Norris. Sainz hasnât generated the same type of success but has picked up points in nine of his last 10 races, which has helped Ferrari cut into the deficit.
âA result that puts us exactly where we want in the constructors,â Sainz said.
Despite acknowledging that itâs an âoptimisticâ target, Leclerc said postrace that Ferrariâs goal this season is winning the constructorsâ title â something thatâs alluded the team since 2008.
Given Ferrariâs recent pace and reliability â it even managed to correct an early issue with Sainzâs car Sunday â the team is well positioned heading into the final five races and two sprints left on the calendar.
With Sergio Perez struggling, Ferrari could leapfrog Red Bull by next weekend. Chasing down McLaren will be more difficult. Ferrari got within 31 points of the British manufacturer after the Italian GP but found itself 75 points back following Singapore. Now, it trails by 48 points going into Mexico.
âThatâs the target,â Leclerc said of being the top team. âI just really hope that we can do that for the rest of the season, and hopefully, we can win the constructors.â
Did McLaren botch decision with Norris?
Norris needs every point possible over Verstappen if he wishes to win his first driversâ championship, and Austin proved to be a wasted opportunity.
Despite securing pole position, Norris again got off to a poor start and was sitting fourth heading into Turn 2.
Norris spent the bulk of the race trying to make up lost ground but finally looked like heâd be able to get by Verstappen after several laps of pursuit.
As the two drove into the corner, Norris appeared to get the nose of his car ahead at the apex. But as the two began maneuvering around the turn, Verstappen forced Norris wide, and both cars went off the track. Norris proceeded to pass Verstappen off track, and McLaren decided not to give the position back.
That decision wound up burning McLaren, as the stewards handed Norris a five-second penalty after the race. Norris managed to build only a four-second lead over Verstappen, which resulted in the two swapping places after the checkered flag, costing Norris a spot on the podium and valuable points.
It was a puzzling decision from McLaren. The team said postrace that it was confident Norris was ahead going into the corner, but it wasnât so clear when rewatching. The risk of not immediately handing the place was a weird gamble to justify for McLaren. Had Norris given the position back right away, there would have been more than enough laps left for Norris to try to overtake Verstappen again without issue, especially with the pace advantage he displayed.
The stewards determined Norris didnât have an advantage at the apex and was deemed to have gained a âlasting advantageâ by leaving the track and overtaking Verstappen.
However, Norris didnât blame the strategy after the race.
âItâs obviously not an easy decision; otherwise, it would have come a bit sooner,â Norris said. âI tried. He also went off the track. If he goes off the track, (he) clearly went in too hard and gained an advantage for doing what he does. But I donât make the rules.â
McLaren team principal Andrea Stella was emphatic that Norris acted appropriately and that the rules werenât applied correctly. He said the team didnât consider asking Norris to give the place back after reviewing their own video.
âMy view is that the way the stewards interfered with a beautiful piece of motorsport was inappropriate,â Stella said. âBoth cars went off track, gained an advantage. Itâs a shame because it cost us a podium, it costs us a race in which we stayed patient after we were pushed off on the first lap.â
Red Bull evidently felt postrace that it benefited from McLarenâs decision not to give the place back. Verstappen said the podium finish was a âgreat resultâ for the team and agreed with the stewards that Norris broke the rules by passing off the track.
âNo, I donât (sympathize with McLaren),â Verstappen said. âThey complain about a lot lately. Itâs very clear in the rules: outside the white line, you cannot pass.â
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner admitted that Norris likely wouldâve caught Verstappen again with his fresher tires. He also said he wouldâve immediately given the place back to allow his driver to attack again if it were up to him.
âI think with the hindsight of what weâve seen how these things played out, I think I would have (swapped positions) cause you can see the pace advantage that Lando had,â Horner said.
After Sunday, Norris has one less race to chase down Verstappen, who now owns a 57-point lead.
They said what? đŁď¸
Norris on McLarenâs pace and poor start: âWe were slower than Ferrari and Red Bull. ⌠Even if I came around Turn 1 in first, I feel like I still would have finished third.â
Horner on Perez costing points in constructorsâ standings:Â âFor Checo, we really need to have the delta between the two drivers closer. You can see two Ferraris, two McLarens, theyâre hunting in pairs.â
Verstappen on Red Bull heading into final races:Â âItâs not the dominant years anymore. This weekend, I think weâve shown some flashes of coming back to the front â still not enough â but we keep working, keep improving, keep learning.â
Liam Lawson on finishing 9th, auditioning for future Red Bull seat:Â âI want to stay in Formula 1 and have a full-time seat next year. These races are my key to doing that.â
Whatâs next?
The F1 action will be rapid over the next few weeks as weâre in the middle of a tripleheader. Teams will quickly pack up in Austin and travel south to Mexico City for the Mexican Grand Prix.
Verstappen has won three straight races at the AutĂłdromo Hermanos RodrĂguez and five of the last six. Lewis Hamilton is the only other driver on the grid to win (2016, 2019) at the circuit in the previous seven races.
