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Charles Leclerc led Carlos Sainz in a Ferrari 1-2 at the 2024 United States Grand Prix while Max Verstappen completed the podium after Formula 1 title rival Lando Norris was penalised late in the race.
Leclerc took the lead when McLaren’s title contender Norris was forced wide by drivers’ championship leader Max Verstappen into Turn 1 on the opening lap.
Norris argued that Verstappen had also run wide out of Turn 1, and said that the Red Bull should have returned the place.
Verstappen then managed to fend off Carlos Sainz despite running very wide exiting Turn 12 and rejoining ahead of the Spaniard.
Sainz however undercut Verstappen with a swap from mediums to hards on lap 22, by which time Leclerc was nearly 10 seconds into the lead. Verstappen didn’t immediately cover off the stop and duly emerged behind Sainz on hard tyres after his lap 26 stop.
Leclerc led comfortably until the chequered flag and beat team-mate Sainz to victory by 8.5 seconds.
Norris loses podium to penalty
The battle for the final podium spot came down to the title rivals. McLaren decided to keep its drivers out longer than the Ferraris and Verstappen to offer them an offset.
On a newer set of hard tyres, Norris closed in on Verstappen on Lap 47 but he was forced around the outside of Turn 12. Verstappen placed his car perfectly thorough the final sector and hung on for a few more laps.
Norris came again with DRS on the start-finish straight but wasn’t close enough on Lap 48.
Even on Lap 50, a lock-up from the Dutchman at Turn 1 wasn’t enough for Norris to take third place.
The Briton came close to taking the place on Lap 52 but again, Verstappen managed to defend impeccably - and Norris had to tail him again. That tyre offset was quickly fading.
On Lap 52, Norris braked late and went around the outside of Verstappen at Turn 12 - and the Dutchman claimed that the McLaren had passed him off the track. The battle raged on as Verstappen attempted a pass around the outside of Turn 1 on Lap 53, while the incident at Turn 12 was noted.
That incident later turned into a five-second penalty for Norris, as the stewards had deemed him to have gone off track and gained an advantage.
Oscar Piastri took fifth place to ensure McLaren at least outscored Red Bull.
Sergio Perez meanwhile finished seventh from ninth after being passed late on by George Russell.
Russell goes from pitlane to points
Russell put in a stellar drive from the pitlane - where he started because of repairs needed to his car after Saturday’s qualifying crash.
He managed to make it from the pitlane to 13th within 15 laps but he was given a five-second penalty for forcing Valtteri Bottas wide in a previous move at Turn 12.
The Mercedes driver pitted from sixth place and served his five-second penalty on lap 41, and then passed Hulkenberg soon after for seventh place. He closed in on Perez with two laps remaining and passed him to retake sixth.
Russell’s points proved a consolation for Mercedes as Lewis Hamilton had beached his car (and brought out the first safety car since Canada) on the second lap of the race.
Hulkenberg started 11th but was into the top 10 by Lap 7 (at the expense of a struggling Fernando Alonso) and he finished eighth for Haas, as it continued its points-scoring streak.
RB’s Liam Lawson put in a stellar drive and boosted his chances of a 2025 Red Bull seat with ninth place. He started 19th with a 60-place grid penalty for taking extra engine components but his opening stint on hard tyres was enough for him to not only outpace team-mate Yuki Tsunoda (14th) but score points in ninth.
Franco Colapinto was also impressive for Williams, as he started on hards and went to mediums (like Lawson) and took the final point.
Dire day for Alpine, Hamilton and more
Haas driver Kevin Magnussen was unfortunate to miss out on points as he pitted a second time (from 10th) on lap 39 with an unexplained issue. He finished 11th ahead of Alpine’s Pierre Gasly, who was fast in his first stint and seemed set for points - but his chances were hurt by a 6.9 second pitstop and an extra five-second penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage.
Aston Martin struggled despite bringing updates to Austin. Fernando Alonso seemed powerless on the way to P13 and Lance Stroll went through the gravel on the lap six safety car restart, dropping to last but recovering to 15th.
Tsunoda split the Aston Martins after taking a five-second penalty for forcing another car off the track.
Alex Albon tapped Alpine’s Esteban Ocon into Turn 1 on the opening lap and had to replace his front wing during the safety car. Albon finished 16th and Ocon 18th.
Sauber continued its point-less run with Valtteri Bottas 17th and Zhou Guanyu 19th - after spinning at Turn 1 late on.
Hamilton meanwhile was the only retiree from the race after a rapid start turned into a miserable DNF in the gravel - leaving Mercedes in no man’s land once again.
