Max fights his way to victory in US GP: 'This one is for Dietrich'

Published on 24 October 2022 by Kees-Jan Koster

Max Verstappen won a thrilling United States Grand Prix. Max immediately took the lead after a superb start from second on the grid. He was well on course to win the race when a slow second pitstop of 11 seconds threw a spanner in the works. The Dutchman fought himself back into the lead with successful overtakes on Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton, to win his thirteenth race this season. Hamilton finished four seconds behind in second position, with Charles Leclerc in P3 and Sergio Perez in P4. With this result Oracle Red Bull Racing also took the constructors' championship, in an emotional weekend in which Red Bull founder Dietrich Mateschitz died.

After the race Max dedicates his victory to Dietrich Mateschitz: “We gave it all today. It has been a tough weekend for us, so this victory is dedicated to Dietrich. This means a lot to me and the team. The only thing we could do today was to win. The slow pitstop did not help, I did everything I could and pushed to the limit to get back in the lead. I know Dietrich would have loved this race. He was so important for the team, and we will continue, but of course we wanted to get a good result today, so this is amazing. It is also great that we took the constructor’s title.”

It was not an easy win for Verstappen, who had to fight his way back into the lead after a slow pitstop. Max looks back on the race: “It was a tough race. We had a good start. After that it went pretty well, even though we lost our lead twice because of the safety cars. But we had good pace. It all looked good, but that pitstop took much longer than we would have wanted. It took eleven seconds, almost nine seconds longer than usual, so that is very painful when everyone is so close. I was a bit upset, but when you get back on track you give it everything. We could get past Charles Leclerc, but that took quite a bit of the tyres. When I was in second position, it took a couple of laps to get the tyres temperatures back under control. Then we closed in on Lewis and I overtook him.”

Now Verstappen and Red Bull Racing have taken both titles, Max hopes that they can continue this success for many years to come: “I hope we can continue to enjoy a couple of years with many victories and championships. It is hard to tell at the moment, but we have to continue to work hard and keep finetuning, then I am sure we have a good chance again next year.”

Ahead of the race on the Circuit of the Americas there was an impressive tribute to Dietrich Mateschitz, the founder of Red Bull who died yesterday, 78 years old. An emotional Max Verstappen says after this sad news: “We will try to make Dietrich proud on Sunday.”

The top twelve starts on the medium compound tyres, while Kevin Magnussen, Fernando Alonso, Mick Schumacher and Esteban Ocon are the only ones to start on the hard tyres. Max has a good start from second on the grid and immediately overtakes polesitter Carlos Sainz. The start goes from bad to worse for Sainz when he is hit in turn one by George Russell. The Spaniard spins and falls back into last place. He makes it back to the pits, but his Ferrari is too damaged to continue the race. Hamilton moves up into P2, with behind him Lance Stroll. George Russell is in fourth position but is given a five second time penalty for the incident with Sainz.

Russell overtakes Stroll in lap five and one lap later overtakes Sergio Perez, who started from ninth on the grid, the Aston Martin driver. At the same time spins Nicholas Latifi in turn four, but the Canadian can continue the race without issues.

Hamilton is in lap thirteen the first of the leaders to make a pitstop. The Brit changes from the medium compound tyres to a set of hard tyres and comes back out on track in seventh position. Verstappen goes into the pits one lap later and also changes to the hard tyres. After a quick pitstop of 2.6 seconds he comes back out on track in second position, behind his teammate Perez. The Mexican stops one lap later, and Verstappen is back in the lead of the race.

Valtteri Bottas spins in lap eighteen and his Alfa Romeo is stuck in the gravel at turn nineteen. This causes the Safety Car to come out. The field is released again in lap 22, and Max continues in the lead in front of Hamilton and Perez. In the midfield Fernando Alonso drives against the back of Lance Stroll who moved left at the very last moment. Alonso flies with his front wheels through the air, grazes the barriers, but is lucky enough to continue on his way. Stroll is not so lucky and ends up in the barrier. The Canadian can get out of his car unharmed, while Alonso goes into the pits for a new front wing. Again, the Safety Car comes out. In lap 26 the race is restarted, and Max is able to continue the race in the lead.

Leclerc increases the pressure on Perez for P3. While his overtaking attempt fails at turn twelve in lap 29, one lap later the Monegasque can get past Perez. Hamilton stops in lap 35 for the second time. The Brit changes to a new set of hard tyres, while Max makes his pitstop again one lap later. There is an issue with the wheel gun on the left front, causing the pitstop to take eleven seconds. Max falls back behind Hamilton and Leclerc in P6, with a set of medium tyres on his RB18.

Max immediately goes on a hunt for Leclerc, in lap 39 the Ferrari driver can counter the attach from Max in turn one. But on the long straight Max is able to overtake Leclerc for P2 with the support of DRS. Max is then four seconds behind Hamilton. He quickly closes in and in lap 50 Verstappen gets within DRS range, and at the first opportunity Max gets past Hamilton in turn twelve. Max wins his thirteenth Grand Prix this season, equalling the record of Michael Schumacher in 2004 and Sebastian Vettel in 2013. Red Bull Racing also wins the constructors' championship for the first time since 2013.

Behind Verstappen finishes Lewis Hamilton in P2, with Charles Leclerc in P3. Sergio Perez finishes fourth and George Russell in P5. Lando Norris finishes ‘best of the rest’ in P6, with Alonso in P7. Sebastian Vettel overtakes Kevin Magnussen in the last lap after an intense battle for P8. With Yuki Tsunoda taking the final point for tenth place. Alonso receives a 30-second time penalty after the race for a loose wing mirror, which moves Vettel, Magnussen and Tsunoda up a place, while Alpine-teammate Ocon gets the final point.

Results Grand Prix United States: