WINNERS AND LOSERS – US Grand Prix Edition

The oldest rider on the grid has won a nice win: a fight for the win for three drivers and three teams and a title race that is not over yet. This year's US Grand Prix had a bit of everything and while some will head to Mexico at the height of the wave, others found themselves facing a frustrating afternoon …

Raikkonen goes back years

Since returning to Ferrari, Kimi Räikkönen was disappointed when the big honor was awarded Sunday afternoon. But his 50th podium for Ferrari had to be special, the Finn ensuring his victory in an exciting US Grand Prix in Austin.

The Finn managed his ultra-pneumatic tires brilliantly during the first stint and absorbed pressure from Lewis Hamilton before diving into the pits. He then did the same thing, this time from Max Verstappen, in the finals to secure his 21st career win.

He makes Sauber the oldest race winner at age 39, since Nigel Mansell triumphed for Williams in the 1994 Australian Grand Prix, ending at the end of the season, with the first lap of Raikkonen in Hamilton – the first time he's got a spot at the turn of one since the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix 2016 – key.

This may not make up for all his previous missed opportunities, but it was a great reward for his perseverance and a timely reminder that he still had the speed and history of the race to mix with the best.

Find this level of performance and there is no reason why he can not add to this total in the last three races of the season – and even for his career at Ferrari.

Verstappen shines again

"Vintage". That's how Max Verstappen's director, Christian Horner, described the brilliant charge of the Dutch driver, from 18th on the grid to second place in Austin, his lowest start in history for which he continued on the podium.

Crossing the sidewalks in qualifying, he broke the suspension of his Red Bull, ending his session early and forcing a gearbox change that earned him a low place on the grid. But that created the conditions for breathtaking driving across the field Sunday afternoon.

The Red Bull driver was ninth at the end of the first lap and fourth at the ninth lap. His ability to effectively manage the tires allowed him to put in place a one-stop strategy and thus move ahead of Hamilton.

He lobbied Raikkonen for it to take the advantage, but he fell short of tires in the final laps before defending Hamilton brilliantly. The duo played side-by-side in four corners, competing for second place. Verstappen won the third podium. four races.

Renault gets the best result of the year

Since the F1 came back from the summer break, Renault is out of breath. Haas is putting pressure on the battle for fourth place in the coveted Constructors' Championship.

In Austin, however, Nico Hulkenberg finished sixth for the second time in seven races, with his team-mate Carlos Sainz placing seventh while Renault achieved his best run of the season.

Sainz has now finished his four US Grand Prix debut in the top seven, while Hulkenberg has ended a series of three successive starts in Austin.

Haas failed to score points, with the withdrawal of Romain Grosjean and the disqualification of Kevin Magnussen, Renault extended his advantage over his US rivals to 22 points with only three races to go. Would this be the fatal blow in the fight of their builders?

Fans rewarded by a thriller

The wet tracks have caused chaos on the Circuit of the Americas in the past, and the latter has come back to haunt the place this year, as Friday's practice has been mostly destroyed.

But conditions improved as the weekend progressed, with the sun shining on Sunday, and fans were rewarded for their commitment with a race of the highest quality.

How many times in F1 have we seen a real battle for leadership in the final stages? This time, we had a battle of three cars, each belonging to different teams, the duel of Verstappen and Hamilton being particularly impressive.

There may have been no passes, but we did not know who would win until the checkered flag fell. It's the kind of tension that makes the sport so captivating.

Hamilton faces the title but extends his lead

It may seem odd to include Hamilton in the winners' section as he failed to win or win a fifth world title with three races in Austin. But he still finished ahead of rival Vettel on the road, which means he's going to Mexico with 70 points in advance and only 75 points available.

Vettel must essentially win the last three races of the season, something he has never done since 2013. And even then, he must hope that Hamilton will not score more than five points.

Of course, anything can happen. But Hamilton finished all races except one this season and was never less than fifth (10 point value) when he reached a checkered flag. So while he may be disappointed that he did not win and win the title in Austin, the odds are still huge in his favor.

The title of Vettel only holds to one thread

In some respects, Vettel deserves to be on our list of winners because if it were not for an excellent comeback to fourth place, Lewis Hamilton would have won a fifth world title with a third in Austin. But that's about. The fact that Vettel had to organize such a return says a lot about everyone – without the fall of three places on the grid to have run at full speed under the reds, he might have beaten Hamilton in turn 1.

In this case, he found himself struggling with Daniel Ricciardo for fourth place and, as in Italy, worsened in a relentless battle. "I imagine that if Sebastian had not spun in the first round, he would probably have won easily," said Mercedes, Toto Wolff, the relevant word stating that it's about " if". With his hopes of champion still mathematically alive, it will be fascinating to see what Vettel will present in Mexico.

Mercedes' winning streak ends in Austin

Many were waiting for Mercedes to blow up champagne corks and celebrate another success at the world title on Sunday night in Austin. According to Lewis Hamilton, the team would have to return to the table after losing both the victory in the race and the victory in the battle of the constructors' championship against rival Ferrari.

Hamilton may have taken pole position, but according to the Brit, the Silver Arrows' racing prospects were somewhat stuck on Saturday when the team chose to ride extra-soft tires in the second quarter.

This, he said, compromised his escape by letting him fall behind Kimi Raikkonen, an ultra-soft shoe, and forcing the team's hand from the point of view of strategy. Anyway, Mercedes just did not have the speed advantage over Ferrari in Austin compared to the last races, or even in recent years on the American circuit, Sunday's defeat having ended a series of four consecutive victories.

The misfortune of Ricciardo continues

One can only imagine what was going on in the mind of Daniel Ricciardo when his Red Bull stopped on lap 9 in Austin – but his body language after getting out of the car told you all what you needed to know about what he was feeling. The Australian, who is behind Renault, has retired from seven of the 18 races this year, including four technical DNFs in the last 10, not to mention the other problems he has recently experienced in testing. and qualifications.

The fact that he has not been on the podium since his victory in Monaco in May is remarkable if we consider the contrasting purple patch of his teammate Max Verstappen during the same period, and Ricciardo is naturally desperate for the reversal chances. "Many times this year, there have been things out of my control, but I can only continue to try," he said Sunday.

"What's so bad is that I only have a few races to do with Red Bull and I want to have more highs than we have had. I want to be able to celebrate with the team at least once more and get on the podium to enjoy this feeling, but we are short of races, which is hard enough to take at the moment … "

Alonso suffers from an untimely exit

It was somewhat ironic that Lance Stroll had a drive penalty on his first lap with Fernando Alonso, given that the Canadian had practically rolled alongside the Spanish McLaren as he sank against the Esses. . Alonso was quick to reprimand the Williams driver, who crowned another disappointing weekend for the double world champion and McLaren in what turns out to be a swan song far from being a fairy tale as he heads for the F1 exit door.

It's easy to forget now that Alonso has scored points in seven of the first ten races of this year. Since then, he has finished in the top 10 only twice, while McLaren's form has dropped dramatically. He seems for the moment on the way to see his career in F1 fight to pass the Q1. With three races to go, he and his fans hope to conjure up a little more magic.

The Haas struggle at home

At home, Haas' in Austin is nightmarish. Arriving in this year's race – their third on the Circuit of the Americas – the team had scored only one point and, once again, she had left the Texas capital with the feeling of being deflated.

Romain Grosjean's eighth place in qualifying promised a lot, but a mistake in the first round quickly left the Frenchman on the sidelines and counting his lucky stars, he had escaped a race ban.

Kevin Magnussen held up better from 12th to 9th place – but even before his mechanics had the chance to blow up the bottles of a few beers to celebrate a better result at home, Haas found himself face-to-face. a second disqualification out of five. races, with the Dane excluded to use too much fuel. In a season when they did so much, it was a forgotten race – and a pity for the thousands of people watching Haas Hill.