12/8/2023 0 Comments James hype austin![]() That confidence translated into two good qualifying performances and a really strong sprint race, even if Verstappen was well out of sight at the front. Hamilton said that the new floor that Mercedes debuted this weekend was the first update in some time whose benefit he clearly felt. While adding to that on Sunday looks unlikely, there is still plenty for the Briton to be optimistic about. No driver has won the United States GP more times than Hamilton, who has six victories (five at COTA, one at Indianapolis). In his 11 appearances at the Circuit of The Americas, Hamilton has finished on the podium 10 times, the only blot on his record book coming in 2013, when he finished fourth for Mercedes. Can Hamilton continue his excellent COTA record? But it does not seem Ferrari has the raw pace to gun for victory in Austin. Should anything happen to Verstappen, then there’d be a chance for Leclerc to snap his win drought that dates to last July’s Austrian Grand Prix. Ferrari does need to understand why Leclerc did not have the pace to keep up with Hamilton in the opening phase of the sprint race, with the Ferrari looking more competitive towards the end of the stint on the mediums. Leclerc doubted anyone could stop Verstappen, but he talked up the potential for the close battle against Hamilton and Norris, who will start second and third on the grid. It looks like the same will ring true tomorrow. “You don’t really know what’s going to happen before the race,” Verstappen said. He pointed out how the nature of the sprint can take away some of the “magic” for those watching in the grandstands or back at home and that there would have been more buzz around a tight battle had it been based on qualifying yesterday. Verstappen used the dominant nature of his win to take another shot at the sprint race format, of which he has never been a fan. “I expect Max to be get there and then (there) to not be too much of a fight,” he said. “It’s a track that you can overtake, so it is likely he’ll be finishing high up tomorrow.”Įven the driver on pole Sunday, Leclerc, is skeptical of securing the win given the 17.9-second margin between him and Verstappen in the sprint. “I assume he’ll be climbing relatively fast, so we’ll have a job on our hands up ahead to try and hold him back,” Hamilton added. Hamilton said that Verstappen’s advantage was at least half a second per lap and that the Red Bull was “cruising” in the lead. Verstappen is one of the few people to think that. “With the (tire degradation) around here, it’s not going to be straightforward. ![]() It’s one thing to be faster, but we have to try and get by a few cars this time. “Hopefully, on higher fuel loads tomorrow, we can do something similar. “Of course, it’s not ideal to start P6, but the pace of the car seems quite strong,” Verstappen said. But the Dutchman has still got the confidence that has carried him through such a dominant year. ![]() Starting sixth isn’t ideal and will require Verstappen to execute a few overtakes to climb up the order. ![]() To win by nine seconds in just 19 laps showed how clear ahead the Red Bull car remains over the longer distances. Even from sixth, Verstappen remains the heavy favoriteįor all the hype built up by the close fight in qualifying and the sprint shootout yesterday, Max Verstappen delivered a powerful reminder of his advantage over the F1 grid in the sprint race. Here are the big storylines heading into the United States Grand Prix. All three are chasing their first wins of the year and will be gunning to capitalize on Verstappen’s mistake.īut with Verstappen delivering such a dominant win in Saturday’s sprint race at COTA, he will remain incredibly hard to beat. So Verstappen will start today’s race from sixth on the grid, with Leclerc on pole ahead of McLaren’s Lando Norris and Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton. Otherwise, Verstappen would’ve edged out Charles Leclerc by a few thousandths of a second due to a track limits breach. The four-driver, four-team fight for pole position on Friday proved thrilling and received a late twist when stewards deleted Verstappen’s pole lap due to a track limits breach. The Circuit of The Americas has already provided plenty of action and some signs of what to expect in the grand prix, with Friday’s qualifying and Saturday’s sprint race telling two different stories.
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