U.S. GP Takeaways: Max wins No. 50, Hamilton's costly DQ, another Ferrari blunder

Following each race weekend this year, theScore’s editors offer their takeaways. We continue the 2023 schedule with the United States GP.

Verstappen needs maximum effort for win No. 50

Entering Sunday, only four drivers in Formula 1’s long history had won 50 or more races. Max Verstappen made it five in Austin, earning one of his more difficult victories of the year.

Him reaching the 50-win club wasn’t much of a surprise, considering Verstappen’s form in recent seasons. However, the speed at which he’s climbed the mountain to the half-century mark is the fastest in two decades. With the Dutch pilot, Lewis Hamilton, Alain Prost, Sebastian Vettel, and Michael Schumacher being the select few to reach 50, only the latter has gotten there quicker than Verstappen.

Quickest to 50 wins:

Though virtually all of Verstappen’s triumphs this year have felt guaranteed, No. 50 was anything but locked in. No driver had ever won at the Circuit of the Americas from outside the first row. Verstappen started sixth, on the third row. It would take a maximum effort from Red Bull to get its reigning three-time champion into the history books again, but the team found a way.

To clear McLaren’s Lando Norris, who stormed into first place on Lap 1, Red Bull had to counter its opposition’s strategy before relying on Verstappen to finish the job himself.

“We knew going up against Lando that they’d committed to the two hards, so we knew going medium-medium, it was crucial for Max to make use of that to get the pass done and get the track position and then run our fastest race to the end of the race,” team principal Christian Horner said, according to Crash.Net’s Connor McDonagh.

Norris wasn’t the only worry Verstappen had. A brake issue stopped the Red Bull driver from gapping the rest of the field like he’s done so many times before. He crossed the checkered flag just 2.2 seconds ahead of rival Lewis Hamilton, though the latter was later disqualified for failing a postrace plank inspection.

“With starting in P6 and the whole race, I was struggling a lot with the brakes, so I couldn’t really have the same feeling as yesterday, so that definitely made my race a bit tougher out there today,” Verstappen added.

Getting to 50 wins is no easy feat, no matter how you slice it. There have been 34 world champions and 113 race winners in Formula 1’s history. Sunday’s race was a testament to why Verstappen broke into the small group of drivers to do so. Even with a grim third-row start and a nagging mechanical issue, Verstappen and Red Bull never once flinched when faced with pressure. – Daniel Valente

Mercedes’ strategy, DQ spoils upgrades

Mercedes had a car capable of winning a race for one of the few occasions this season.

That’s until a poor strategy decision cost Hamilton a shot at his first victory since the Saudi Arabian GP in December 2021.

Mercedes’ final upgrade package of the season delivered in Austin. The W14 featured a new floor that helped create downforce at the back of the car, allowing it to carry more speed through the corners.

Toto Wolff called the upgrade “superb” after the race.

But while the car looked great, the decisions on the pit wall left the team walking away from another race weekend wanting more.

With Hamilton sitting in first, Mercedes was hopeful it could get by on a one-stop strategy despite Hamilton believing otherwise. Verstappen and Norris deployed two-stop strategies. The gamble for Mercedes quickly backfired. Verstappen pitted on Lap 16, and Norris followed a lap later. Hamilton didn’t come in until Lap 20, and at that point, it was too late. The decision by Mercedes proved costly, as Hamilton’s tires quickly dropped off and cost him valuable time.

A slow pit stop only compounded those issues.

“I think we probably should have stopped before Lando,” Hamilton said. “I don’t know why we didn’t. It was really difficult to catch up. That deficit was so hard to catch up each time.”

Norris would pit again on Lap 34, with Verstappen coming in the following lap. Hamilton came in on Lap 38, not leaving enough time for him to close what was nearly an eight-second gap. Had the race been two laps longer, Hamilton likely would’ve caught Verstappen, making those earlier decisions that much more frustrating for a Mercedes team that’s yet to win this season.

“They could have won today if they did a better strategy,” Verstappen said.

Maybe it’s a good thing Hamilton didn’t win in Austin, though, as he and Charles Leclerc were officially disqualified hours later for failing postrace plank checks.

“Turning to the race result and the disqualification, set-up choices on a sprint weekend are always a challenge with just one hour of free practice – and even more so at a bumpy circuit like COTA and running a new package. In the end, all of that doesn’t matter; others got it right where we got it wrong, and there’s no wiggle room in the rules,” Wolff said. “We need to take it on the chin, do the learning, and come back stronger next weekend.”

The disqualification will have a massive impact on second place in the drivers’ standings with four races to go. Hamilton, who had a DNF last race in Qatar, had closed the gap with Sergio Perez to 18 points prior to the DQ in Austin. Now he heads to the Mexico Grand Prix 39 points back of the Red Bull driver. – Brandon Wile

Sargeant’s 1st career point arrives anticlimactically

If you told Logan Sargeant’s supporters heading into his rookie season that the lone American on the grid would get the first points of his career in America, they’d likely be elated. After all, it’s been a long wait for Yankee racing fans to see one of their own participate in a grand prix, let alone get a result. Alexander Rossi was the last American to appear in F1 back in 2015. The last time someone from the States earned a point was way back in 1993 with Michael Andretti. Sargeant wasn’t born for another seven years.

So why is the fact that Sargeant’s first points come on home soil so bittersweet? As a result of being awarded retroactively from postrace disqualifications to both Hamilton and Leclerc, Sargeant just didn’t get any of the fanfare.

In a way, it’s extremely fitting. The 22-year-old should be given some leeway as a rookie, but his freshman campaign has been underwhelming. That’s likely worsened by the fact that fellow rookie Oscar Piastri is having a remarkable breakout. But, if you measure Sargeant against the other 2023 rookie, Nyck de Vries, who’s no longer even on the grid, the American’s run has been a success by virtue of simply maintaining his seat at Williams. After years of underwhelming performance, though, Williams is seeing some success as it begins its ascent into the midfield – and, frankly, Sargeant has been unable to keep up with teammate Alex Albon.

That isn’t to say Sargeant doesn’t deserve at least some celebrations, though. Circuit of the Americas is an iconic track, and crossing the line 12th there, ahead of both Haas drivers (the American team) as well as veterans Valtteri Bottas and Daniel Ricciardo is an achievement. He put himself in a position to claim that single point, even if it did take a strong assist from Hamilton and Leclerc not passing their inspections.

But, really, Sargeant needs to be aiming higher. He still has half as many points as Liam Lawson, who merely acted as a fill-in for an injured Ricciardo for five races. He should definitely celebrate his result in Austin, but the fact that it’s a bit muted might not hurt, either, particularly with one more race in America remaining on the calendar: Las Vegas on Nov. 19.

But this is the way Sargeant earned his first points in Formula 1: not with a bang but a whimper. – Michael Bradburn

F1’s sprint format still needs a ton of work

After three years, multiple format changes, and 11 races, Formula 1’s sprint still feels like nothing more than a trailer that spoils too much of its main act.

There were plenty of reasons to be excited for Sunday’s feature race in Austin after qualifying left Leclerc on pole, Norris alongside him, Hamilton third, and the dominant Verstappen in sixth. Would Leclerc grab Ferrari’s second win of the year? Could this be Norris’ best opportunity for a maiden victory? Was Hamilton’s lengthy winless streak about to end? Or would Verstappen prove to be inevitable again?

The suspense surrounding the mixed grid should’ve held strong until the lights went out for Sunday’s race. Except it didn’t. By no later than Saturday evening, the excitement for Sunday’s race turned into boredom, thanks to the sprint.

Saturday’s 19-lap sprint answered all the questions surrounding the possible outcomes of Sunday’s event. No, Leclerc didn’t have the tire life or pace to pull off an improbable triumph. Neither did Norris or Hamilton. But Verstappen sure did show the speed required to storm the field after finishing ahead of his closest rival by nine-plus seconds and nearly 18 seconds in front of third place Saturday.

Imagine a production company forwarding a film’s script to all ticket holders just hours before the movie is set to hit theatres. It would be asinine. Yet, Formula 1 continues to do exactly that with the sprint format.

It’s not only fans and pundits who criticized Saturday’s marquee event, either. Even the driver who’s won more sprint races than anyone else isn’t exactly toeing the company line despite constantly topping the manufactured spectacle.

“If you want my honest opinion about sprint weekends, I don’t really get excited by it. … Like now we’ve done this race, everyone more or less knows what’s going to happen tomorrow between all the cars in terms of pace, so it takes away a bit the excitement of it,” Verstappen said Saturday.

Now, that’s not to say they can’t be compelling at all. This year’s sprints in Austria, Spa, and Qatar were all rather enjoyable. However, it’s no surprise that those three each featured an additional variant of chaos with rain in Austria, changing conditions in Spa, and various tire selections in Qatar.

Even the successes are only further evidence that the format is still lacking an extra characteristic that doesn’t just make it a tasteless, bite-sized version of Sunday’s headliner race.

“I think you have got to add a bit more jeopardy to it,” Red Bull’s Horner said Saturday, according to Autosport’s Jonathan Noble. “It still doesn’t quite feel (special when) you win a sprint race. Obviously, it doesn’t mean quite as much as a grand prix, but I think that we’re in a process where we need to be open to change and evolution.”

So, what can F1 do? Some proposals frequently thrown around include giving sprint events their own separate championship standings, expanding the points system from beyond the top eight finishers, loosening parc ferme restrictions to allow setup changes for each day, or a reverse championship grid to determine the starting positions.

Changes like those mentioned need to be considered if those in charge of the sport are hellbent on sticking with their creation long term. More racing will never sound like a bad idea, but it should never come at the cost of ruining the unpredictability of Sunday’s top selling point. – Valente

Get it together, Ferrari

Leclerc was optimistic upon his arrival at COTA. He thought Ferrari had an opportunity to deliver a solid result, and, seemingly delivering on that promise, nabbed his 21st career pole position on Friday. It all started so well.

Leave it to Ferrari’s strategists to quash that enthusiasm.

For the umpteenth time during his largely frustrating tenure with the Scuderia, Leclerc was left out to dry by his team, which opted for the undesirable one-stop approach to the 56-lap event. Of the drivers that finished the race in Austin, the Monegasque was the lone operator to pit just once – of course.

Leclerc, at his diplomatic best, said it was a “shame” that his race was scuppered by another strategic blunder.

“Our data suggested that there was not a particularly big difference between a one- and a two-stop strategy, but events proved us wrong,” team principal Fred Vasseur admitted after the race. The Italian outfit decided before the lights went out that a one-stop approach was best and, in familiar fashion, wasn’t nimble enough to make the correct adjustment during the action.

It was actually fitting that Leclerc was eventually disqualified for a technical infringement discovered during a postrace inspection. Representatives from Ferrari – and Mercedes, which saw Hamilton also disqualified for the same breach – said they failed the plank wear inspection test because they didn’t have the proper time to “set up and check the car before the race.”

Leclerc hasn’t been without fault during his time with the iconic Italian team; he was slow off the line on Sunday, for instance, and immediately got jumped by Norris. There are things within his control that he can improve.

But until Ferrari eliminates its strategic blunders and starts acting like a real title contender, or at least cuts down on the frequency of the errors, Leclerc’s lifelong dream of winning a championship while behind the wheel of the iconic scarlet red car will go unfulfilled. – Gianluca Nesci