Max Verstappen has already secured his second Formula 1 Championship. With Verstappen’s victory and Sergio Perez’s performance on Sunday, Red Bull has secured the constructors championship as well. It was an appropriate accomplishment to achieve this weekend. Red Bull Co-Founder Dietrich Mateschitz passed away on Saturday. The Red Bull team’s sorrow motivated them to perform the best they could for the organization, for each other and for Dietrich Mateschitz’s family.
Tricky Turn One
As always, Verstappen’s win was not a foregone conclusion. Ferrari’s cars qualified one and two with Carlos Sainz earning pole position. Sergio Perez qualified fourth however he was forced to start ninth on the grid due to engine component penalty. Charles Leclerc was also forced to start 12th on the grid due to an engine penalty. The front row was Sainz and Verstappen. The second row was Lewis Hamilton and George Russell, and the third row was Lance Stroll and Lando Norris. As the grid took off into the incline leading into turn one, Verstappen jumped ahead to the lead. As the cars rounded the turn, Russell locked up his brakes and ran into Sainz, spinning him around causing an immediate yellow flag. Sainz had the racing line and Russell rammed into the side of him instead of continuing to brake. FIA rules are clear; if you are ahead on the corner then it is your corner. Russell failed to give way and Sainz went from pole to last on lap 1, turn 1. Sainz limped around the track on a punctured tire and did not return to the race due to the damage done to his car.
Rivalry Renewed for One Race
Heading into lap two the grid had shuffled massively behind Verstappen. Sebastian Vettel had moved up into fifth, Stroll had overtaken Russell, Leclerc moved up to tenth and Hamilton had settled in behind Verstappen. The race was shaping up into an old 2021 matchup between Hamilton and Verstappen. At the beginning of lap twelve, the top six were Verstappen, Hamilton, Russell, Perez, Stroll and Vettel. During the lap, Leclerc passed Vettel going into turn three. Hamilton decided to pit causing the grid to reshuffle again. This was the Hamilton’s first of two attempts to undercut Verstappen. Verstappen’s pace was too much for Hamilton. After Verstappen pitted, he still came out ahead of Hamilton during lap 14.
Circuit of Americas 2022 featured excellent racing. The hard, intense racing helped to celebrate the track’s tenth anniversary hosting a Formula 1 race. Reliving Hamilton and Verstappen’s rivalry brought a sense of nostalgia to all of us. Hamilton’s second attempt to undercut Verstappen during lap 34 was successful. However, Verstappen spent 15 laps slowly reeling Hamilton in. Verstappen maintained a four second gap from laps 40 to 47 and then he made his move. Verstappen passed Hamilton on the back straight during lap 50. It was amazing racing to watch.
Intense Racing!
My family and I had the pleasure of attending this race. We sat at the bleachers on turn two and we saw great side by side racing from several drivers. During lap 38 Vettel was P1. After he pitted, we were treated to watching him steer his Aston Martin thru the field where he ended up finishing seventh. Lando Norris had several great passes during the race eventually securing sixth for McLaren. We also saw some tremendous side by side racing between Leclerc and Perez during laps 29 and 30, as Leclerc eventually passed Perez on the back straight.
There were only two safety cars during this race. The first came when Valterri Bottas spun out at turn 19 and beached himself on the runoff. The next yellow flag came during lap 21 after green flag racing had resumed. The top three cars taking off were Verstappen, Hamilton and Perez and we all thought we would see some fireworks between the three cars. Instead, while heading down the back straight, Fernando Alonzo ran over the rear tire of Stroll’s Aston Martin, wrecking both cars causing a spectacular wreck. Stroll’s Aston Martin was all but destroyed. Thankfully both drivers were ok despite the amount of damage the cars suffered. Unlike some European tracks, the team at COTA cleared the track in record time and we were back to green flag racing by lap 25.
Even though the Drivers’ Championship was already secured by Max Verstappen, COTA was a tremendous success. On to Mexico! Will Sergio Perez add to his win total in his home country? As an appreciator of history, I would love to see it!
