Ferrari celebrated a one-two finish on Sunday at the 2024 Formula 1 United States Grand Prix, which was held at Austin's Circuit of the Americas.
While it was Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen who took home the win during Saturday's standalone Sprint race, the reigning champion couldn't repeat that performance during Sunday's main event. Instead it was Ferrari's Charles Leclerc first across the finish line, followed by teammate Carlos Sainz some eight and half seconds behind.
Verstappen went on to secure the third podium place around 19 seconds behind the winner, following a hard-fought battle with McLaren's Lando Norris who secured fourth place. It was actually Norris who crossed the line third but he suffered a five-second penalty due to failing to hand a position back to Verstappen. In the closing stages, Norris was behind Verstappen and ran off the track during a passing maneuver on lap 52, which saw the McLaren driver return to the track ahead of his Red Bull rival.
Norris was the driver on pole when the lights turned green, with Verstappen also at the front of the grid, but a tussle between them allowed the two Ferrari drivers, starting in the second row, to move in front by the first corner, with Leclerc leading Sainz. Leclerc then controlled the race, including after a safety car appearance on lap three due to Mercedes-Benz AMG's Lewis Hamilton getting stuck in the gravel at turn 19. Sainz however was behind Verstappen at the restart, though the Ferrari driver would reclaim the spot via an undercut following one of Verstappen's tire changes.
Mercedes-Benz AMG at the 2024 Formula 1 United States Grand Prix - Photo via Mercedes-Benz
McLaren's Oscar Piastri secured fifth place, finishing behind his teammate, while Mercedes' George Russell climbed to sixth which was impressive after starting from the pit lane. Sergio Perez contributed to Red Bull’s points total by taking seventh, followed by Haas' Nico Hulkenberg in eighth.
One of the most impressive drivers was rookie Liam Lawson who scored two points by finishing ninth in his first race back at RB after replacing Daniel Ricciardo for the remainder of the season. He started the race at the back of the grid due to a penalty of taking on a new power unit. Fellow rookie Franco Colapinto of Williams also finished in the points by claiming 10th place.
Following the weekend's action, Verstappen still leads the 2024 Drivers' Championship with 354 points. Norris is second with 297 points and Leclerc is third with 275 points. In the Constructors' Championship, McLaren leads with 544 points. Red Bull is second with 504 points and Ferrari is third with 496 points.
The next race on the calendar is the Mexican Grand Prix on this weekend.
2024 Formula 1 United States Grand Prix - Photo via Ferrari
