Verstappen at the limit to claim championship double after pitstop glitch in 2022 US GP

On lap 42 of the inaugural United States Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas, Lewis Hamilton overtook Sebastian Vettel for the lead.

On lap 41 of the 10th anniversary of the United States Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas, Lewis Hamilton overtook Sebastian Vettel for the lead.

That wasn’t the only piece of déjà vu during a thrilling grand prix in Austin, as 2022 mirrored 2021, with Hamilton trying to hunt down Max Verstappen during the middle part of the race.

“To see top four drivers making mistakes like that surprises me: I take the worst of it and have to retire”

But there was a different atmosphere this time around. Far from the tension of last year’s title battle, there was only the constructors’ championship that was still on the line, and it was a particularly poignant attempt as Red Bull paid tribute to its team owner Dietrich Mateschitz following his passing on Saturday.

That saw all of the Red Bull-backed drivers on the grid – past and present – join Christian Horner and Helmut Marko at the front of the field as images of Mateschitz were played out on the big screens pre-race, but for one of those drivers, a sombre mood soon turned to anger.

Carlos Sainz had secured the third pole position of his career but saw Verstappen beat him off the line to instantly secure the upper hand. Sainz attempted the switchback out of Turn 1 — his best chance to fight back — but was hit by George Russell as he did so, spinning the Ferrari, and causing a water leak that meant Sainz had to retire.

“Extremely frustrating, again another race without doing more than a lap,” Sainz said. “Especially starting from pole, to see drivers in the top four making mistakes like that surprises me, but I take the worst part of it and I have to retire.”

With the lead Ferrari out of the way, Verstappen appeared to have a clean run, only to see Hamilton keep him honest in the opening stint. The pair had a buffer too, as Lance Stroll had made an excellent start to run third, with Russell taking until lap five to overtake the Aston Martin, by which time a five-second time penalty for the Briton had been confirmed.

Like his team-mate, Vettel had also enjoyed an impressive start to run fifth early on before he was overtaken by Sergio Perez on lap four, with the Mexican losing his front wing endplate two laps later as he also cleared Stroll. The damage had been sustained in contact with Valtteri Bottas on the opening lap, but he wasn’t called into the pits before the part made its escape on the run to Turn 12.

The damage didn’t appear to hurt Perez, who rose to lead by lap 14 once Hamilton, Verstappen and Russell had all made their first of two planned stops.

A number of drivers came in relatively early to switch from medium to hard tyres, with only Charles Leclerc and Vettel running long, as well as the Haas and Alpine pair who had all started on hards originally – Esteban Ocon from the pit lane.

That gamble soon paid off as Bottas spun into the gravel at Turn 19 on what was a very blustery day, bringing out the safety car on lap 18 and allowing free pits stops.

Suddenly, Leclerc was fourth and right in the fight, while Vettel was promoted to sixth ahead of Stroll. It was a short-lived joy for Aston Martin, however, as on the race restart Alonso, having already cleared Pierre Gasly at Turn 1, was slipstreaming behind Stroll and pulled to the left on the back straight. Stroll moved just a few moments later and the Alpine was sent airborne while the Aston Martin hit the barrier hard and spun multiple times before coming to a rest.

“Honestly, when you see the thing on the TV it is a racing incident,” Alonso said. “We move at the same time to the left and that was the trigger of everything. I think it was very unfortunate for everyone.”

The stewards didn’t agree and handed out a three-place grid penalty for the Canadian, but remarkably Alonso was able to continue after pitting for repairs, albeit with a loose wing mirror.

The safety car had been required once again, and on this occasion Gasly dropped too far back on the track, earning himself a time penalty as the stewards continued to have a busy afternoon.

The interruption came a bit too soon for most drivers to make a second stop, and it wasn’t until lap 34 that the first frontrunner blinked after a tense spell. Leclerc had pulled a strong move down the inside of Perez into Turn 12 to take third but failed to scamper away as expected, and the same could be said for Verstappen ahead.

The race leader had been complaining about the windy conditions and problems with drivability, and Hamilton sensed a chance at his first win of the season, keeping within two seconds of the leader. Mercedes then went for the undercut by calling the seven-time world champion in for a second set of hard tyres – his only choice given tyre availability – and Red Bull responded one lap later.