© Getty ImagesMax Wins Big In Game Of Texas Hold ‘EmMax and Checo claim podium number 200 for the Team in Austin.
MaxVerstappenclaimedabrilliantUnitedStatesGrandPrixwinafterholdinghisnervetofendoffintensepressurefromtitlerivalLewisHamiltonintheclosingstagesofabreathlessraceattheCircuitoftheAmericas.ThevictoryextendstheDutchman'schampionshipleadovertheMercedesdriverto12points.
Sergio Pérez, meanwhile, put in a heroic performance, battling a failed drinks bottle and high temperatures to complete a double podium finish for the Team with third place.
It's All Action At Turn 1© Getty Images
When the lights went out Verstappen reacted well but Mercedes’ Hamilton was sharper still and as the pair went up the hill, Max was forced to pull across to defend. Hamilton had a better line though and as the title contenders went into turn one the Red Bull driver had to go wide and off track, ceding the lead to the Mercedes driver.
Behind them Checo held third place ahead of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, but Daniel Ricciardo in the McLaren had passed Carlos Sainz at the start to take fifth position. The Spanish Ferrari driver ended the first lap in P6 ahead of McLaren’s Lando Norris and AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda who had risen to eighth from P10 at the start.
Verstappen shadowed Hamilton for the first 10 laps but unable to get close enough in the turbulent wake from the Mercedes, and with his tyres overheating, the Dutchman pitted at the end of lap 10 taking on hard rubber. He re-joined in P5 behind Ricciardo but soon passed the McLaren driver.
Checo then made his first stop on lap 12 taking on medium tyres and that pushed Mercedes to react with Hamilton. The Briton headed for the pit lane at the end of lap 13 and though the switch to hard tyres was clean and quick, Max powered past as Hamilton left his box. By the time Hamilton re-joined he was in P2 and 6.7s behind the Red Bull driver.
Time For A Quick Pit Stop© Getty Images
The leaders then settled into their second stint, with Max managing his pace and tyres as Hamilton tried to reel him in.
The Briton edged to within three seconds as the race headed past half distance but then, on lap 29, Max dived into the pits for another set of hard tyres. Checo then made his second visit to the pit lane a lap later and this time the Mexican took on a set of hard tyres.
When they re-joined Max found himself just over 16.5s behind Hamilton who was being told to go long. Checo, meanwhile, was around 20 seconds behind his teammate in P3.
As Max closed to within 13 seconds, Hamilton eventually made his second stop, for more hard tyres, at the end of lap 37. When he emerged, he was 8.7s behind Max but with tyres that were eight laps newer. It would come down to a battle of tyre wear versus pace in the final few laps.
With 10 laps remaining, Hamilton had edged to within three seconds and Max was warned by his pit wall to make sure he reserved enough rear tyre life to fend off attacks through the DRS zones.
Time To Buckle Down For The Fight© Getty Images
With three laps remaining, it looked like his efforts might be in vain. Hamilton closed to 1.2 seconds and then broke into DRS range of the Red Bull. Max though had done a masterful job of preserving tyre life and as the title rivals approached the DRS detection points Max pushed the pace to break the gap and deny Hamilton the speed advantage in the two zones. And when Hamilton went wide with a lap left and the gap expanded back to 1.7s the race was won.
After 56 nail-biting laps Max crossed the line to score his eight win of the season and his 18th overall in Formula 1. The victory means that Max has extended his Drivers’ Championship lead. He now has 287.5 points, 12 more than Hamilton.
Hamilton took second, just 1.3s behind the Dutchman and soon after Checo crossed the line to hand the Team its second double podium finish in a row. It was a superb achievement for the Mexican who had battled through the 56 laps in high temperatures without a drink bottle.
Red Bull Racing Celebrate 200th Podium© Getty Images
Afterwards Sergio branded the race the toughest of his career, but the Mexican’s heroic efforts, allied with a sixth-place finish for Valtteri Bottas in the second Mercedes, mean that the Team has closed the Constructors’ Championship gap to Mercedes from 36 before the Austin weekend to just 23 at the flag.
Behind Sergio, Charles Leclerc claimed fourth place for Ferrari ahead of Ricciardo and Bottas. Seventh place went to Carlos Sainz in the second Ferrari, with McLaren’s Lando Norris eighth. Yuki Tsunoda scored two points for AlphaTauri with ninth place and Sebastian Vettel finished tenth to take a single point for Aston Martin.
United States Grand Prix 2021: Race
Great Result For The Bulls At COTA© Getty Images
The Bulls Ready To Go Full Send© Getty Images
The Straight To Turn 1© Getty Images
Taking In The View At COTA© Getty Images
200th Podium For Red Bull Racing© Getty Images
Checo Out In COTA On Mediums© Getty Images
Max Approaching The Pit Stop© Getty Images
Max Celebrates P1 At COTA© Getty Images
We definitely gave it our all today as a team and it was great to have Checo up there with me on the podium.
"It was an exciting race and it feels incredible to win here in front of all the fans. The pressure was on for the whole race and not knowing how quickly Lewis would catch up. I actually thought I had a decent start, but Lewis had an even better one. So we went for an aggressive strategy after losing the lead into turn one and we pitted early in the first stint. Then for the middle stint we were in that undercut range, so we had to respond and we went for track position which made the last stint very long, especially in this heat. The last two laps were definitely difficult on the tyres, there wasn’t much grip left. But, then with two laps to go, I had the Haas in front of me and I was able to benefit from the DRS, so we managed to hang on in the end. We definitely gave it our all today as a Team and it was great to have Checo up there with me on the podium.”
Checo On Podium At COTA© Getty Images
"That was the hardest and longest race of my life. I wasn’t feeling great before the race and then my drinks system stopped working on the first lap and with the hot weather today it was very physical and a pretty tough afternoon. I was struggling massively and by lap 20 I was done, so it was a shame I couldn’t keep up with Max and Lewis but there are a lot of positives to take from this weekend and back to back podiums are always nice. It’s a good result for the Team, the undercut worked well and Lewis had no option but to cover me which helped Max out in front, so we can be very happy as a Team. I’m so looking forward to Mexico, the Team have done well there in the past and I think we’ll have a good package for my home race. I can’t wait and I hope to be on the podium again in front of my home fans.”
Christian Keeping A Close Eye On The Race© Getty Images
We went for track position and Max held on and managed the race superbly.
"What an incredible victory and double podium for the Team! It’s our first US GP win since 2013 and what a way to do it. At the beginning of the race we had really good pace on the mediums and Max was able to put pressure on Lewis, but we know that he is so strong at the end of the race and he went long which bought himself an advantage. So we went for track position and Max held on and managed the race superbly, especially his last stint on the hard tyre to have enough left to keep his lead at the end. It was a tough race for Checo with no drinks system, but again the way he managed the race was fantastic and you can see him growing in confidence with his second podium in consecutive races. He produced a phenomenal drive and with his home race coming up he’s finding his form, which is crucial for us at this time of year. It’s five to go now, and we know that there are a couple of races where Mercedes will have the edge and a couple where we will be strong, so the rest of the season is going to be really tight.”
UnitedStatesGrandPrixTop10
| Position | Driver | Team | | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
| Max Verstappen | Lewis Hamilton | Sergio Pérez | Charles Leclerc | Daniel Ricciardo | Valtteri Bottas | Carlos Sainz | Lando Norris | Yuki Tsunoda | Sebastian Vettel |
| Red Bull Racing Honda | Mercedes | Red Bull Racing Honda | Ferrari | McLaren | Mercedes | Ferrari | McLaren | AlphaTauri | Aston Martin |
