Ferrari Wows at US Grand Prix With 1-2 Finish

Ferrari brought themselves back into the F1 title fight this weekend after finishing 1-2 in the USA at Circuit of the Americas for the F1 US grand prix. After championship leader Max Verstappen won the sprint race early in the weekend Lando Norris claimed pole for the grand prix. Norris led until the first round of pits stop but it was a superior strategy and better tire management from Ferrari that saw the Scuderia to victory.

Charles Leclerc Returns to the Top

Race winner Charles Leclerc said, It feels good to bring home a victory at the start of this triple header. The whole team did an amazing job to make this happen and a 1-2 brings us a good amount of points in the fight for the Constructors’ title. It’s an optimistic target, but we will never stop dreaming until it is done.It feels good to bring home a victory at the start of this triple header. The whole team did an amazing job to make this happen and a 1-2 brings us a good amount of points in the fight for the Constructors’ title.

It’s an optimistic target, but we will never stop dreaming until it is done. I had a good start, leveraging the fact that Max (Verstappen) pushed hard into turn 1, and Lando (Norris) defended from him. I lined up my exit and overtook both of them. After that, I knew it would be a matter of taking good care of my tires and just bringing it home. Our pace was really strong from the first lap onwards and I felt that I could pull away from Max quite comfortably. We’ve made a really good step in terms of our race trim, and hopefully, we will keep it up in the next few races. We will do everything to maximize our results and at the end of the year, we will do the math and see where we stand.”

Verstappen Salvages P3, Lawson Scores Points

Max Verstappen finished P3 and more importantly ahead of Land Norris in todays grand prix. Despite the recent success from the McLarens Verstappen left this race weekend with a larger lead than he came in with.

Liam Lawson scored points in his return to F1 outscoring RB team veteran, Yuki Tsunoda. His point scoring finish came after he was issued a 60 place grid penalty for the upgrade allocation breaches that were issued to Ricciardo over the 2024 season. After the race he said, “It was a good race; I didn’t expect that to be honest. We had a great first lap, I just went for every little gap and made up some positions. We made a really good step up with the car yesterday, which we hoped would replicate in the race today and thankfully it did.

The car was really strong and it did exactly what we hoped it would do. The Hard [tire] works well for us, and we had good pace too. When I boxed and we got some clean air we were able to keep extending longer than we’d planned and I think for me, doing yesterday’s sprint, I took notes from what others were doing, which really helped. The whole team have put a lot of effort into preparing me for t his, a lot of extra hours knowing it was my first weekend back in the car so a big thanks to everyone in the team for making this happen. Mexico is a very different track so we’ll see what we can do there next week.”

United States Grand Prix Results

After a disappointing race in the sprint Lando Norris bounced back in qualifying for the grand prix to secure pole. The drivers didn’t have much time between the sprint race and qualifying today which limited what the teams could turn around on the cars before the late afternoon session. He said, “This is one of the tracks where inside you’re like ‘damn this is fast’, and it’s exciting and it just gives you a good feeling. It’s bumpy and it’s fast, especially Sector 1, so it puts a smile on your face and definitely ending quickest puts a bigger smile on your face too. A tough day, a tough weekend for us but we changed quite a bit.

I think we reviewed everything we could and we made the improvements we needed to make. Maybe we weren’t the quickest car out there today. Carlos said he was going to go quicker, Max was going to go quicker so I’m lucky and I’ll take it.”

Of note George Russell will start from the pit lane after a major collision in qualifying ended his session.

US Grand Prix Qualifying Results

Max Verstappen won from pole position in the US grand prix sprint race this afternoon. The win meant Verstappen gained 1 point on a recently surging Lando Norris who has lifted McLaren ahead of Red bull for most of the second half of the 2024 F1 season. However, today it was Verstappen who led from the front and would not look back. Verstappen said, “It was not too bad, feels a bit like old times! I’m very happy with today. I think of course if you look at the whole race Ferrari was also very quick, but I think for us finally we were racing again. Normally in the race we’re always looking back behind us, but now we could just do our own race and we had good pace.”

Despite Verstappen’s documented distaste for the sprint race weekend format its clear he has a knack for winning them. Additionally, Red Bull gained points on McLaren as they chase the orange in the constructors championship race after falling behind in the mid season.

Lando Norris Late Lock Up Costs Him

Lando norris was in a comfortable P2 until Carlos Sainz in his Ferrari took advantage of a late lock up by Norris which saw Sainz through to claim P2 in the sprint. Norris was under constant pressure from a surging Charles Leclerc behind. As the tires started to fall off Norris locked up again but was able to hold off Leclerc on the final lap of the race. Leclerc nearly wrecked both drivers after trying to back a pass and making slight contact with the back of Norris’ McLaren. However, crisis was avoided and both finished the race. No investigation findings were noted for the pass attempt.

Grand Prix qualifying is up next in a few hours time.

US Grand Prix Sprint Race Results

Max Verstappen showed the world that its not over in the F1 championship after qualifying on pole for the US Grand Prix Sprint Race. Red Bull have struggle over the last few races seeing lose after lose to McLaren in the constructors championship race. Likewise Verstappen who once held a near triple digit lead in championships sees himself in recently unfamiliar territory. Red Bull’s dominance the last two seasons versus their performance in 2024 had Formula 1 fans in a state of shock at the season mid way point.

It’s clear that McLaren found something they didn’t have at the beginning of the season but now that Verstappen has secured pole once again can the same possibly said for Red Bull. It’s no doubt that Sergio Perez has not performed up to expectation in 2024 and the constructors championship is now a chase for the Red Bull side. Perez finished P11 behind the McLaren of Lando Norris. The teams goal will be to start to chip away at the championship point lead. With 6 race weekends left including the US Grand Prix. Every point available could decide the balance.

George Russell Has a Good Showing

George Russell finished sprint qualifying in P2 ahead of Charles Leclerc in third. Russel said, “I’m really happy with how today went. It has been a while since we qualified on the front-row so we can be pleased with the progress we have made. The update kit we brought here seems to be working well although it has surprised us a little how competitive we were today. Sprint Qualifying was a tricky session, but I was able to put my lap in SQ3 together. The final sector in particular was strong and that is what enabled us to take P2.
 
Lewis was very quick today, and he was unlucky to be caught out by a yellow flag. We both should have been up there but it’s great that, as a team, we were back in the mix today. It is also clearly very close with several other outfits including Red Bull, Ferrari, and McLaren. Hopefully we can continue this form into the weekend and look forward to fighting at the front.”

US Grand Prix Sprint Qualifying Results

The following article was not written by Speed Trap Magazine Staff…

From Visa Cash App RB…

Faenza, Italy – Visa Cash App RB can today confirm that Liam Lawson will be driving for the Team for the remainder of the 2024 FIA Formula One World Championship season, racing alongside Yuki Tsunoda in the United States Grand Prix at the Circuit of the Americas. Liam has been a Red Bull reserve driver since 2022, making his Grand Prix debut in Zandvoort last year during Daniel’s recovery period. His impressive five-race drive saw him score points for the Team, finishing ninth in the Singapore GP.

Visa Cash App RB Team Principal, Laurent Mekies said: “Everyone here at VCARB would like to thank Daniel for his hard work across the last two seasons with us. He has brought a lot of experience and talent to the Team with a fantastic attitude, which has helped everyone to develop and foster a tight team spirit. Daniel has been a true gentleman both on and off the track and never without that smile. He will be missed, but will always hold a special place within the Red Bull family.

“I’d also like to take this opportunity to welcome Liam. He already knows the Team well. He drove for us last season, and coped well under difficult circumstances, so it’ll be a natural transition. It’s great to see young talent from within the Red Bull family make the next step. We’re looking forward to getting our heads down and focusing on the rest of the season together.” 

Visa Cash App RB

With more than 350 race starts and counting, Red Bull’s Italian Formula 1 team has been one of the sport’s most consistent and important competitors since 2006.Launched as Scuderia Toro Rosso and charged with bringing future champions to the grid, the team was successful in launching the top level careers of a generation of drivers who have gone on to win races and world championships in Formula 1 and beyond. The success continued following the teams’ 2020 rebrand as Scuderia AlphaTauri, with victory at the Italian Grand Prix in its first season. Now reborn with an expanded mission to battle for the sport’s biggest prizes, Visa Cash App RB team is powering into a new era of competition at the pinnacle of motor sport.

McLaren continued their dominance this weekend in Singapore at marina Bay with Lando Norris securing the win in the Singapore Grand prix from pole position. The win means Norris cut into Verstappen’s championship lead again and Red Bull seemingly has no answer for this new found pace at McLaren. Norris was visibly pleased after the race.

“Another win!,” he said. I’m so happy with today, it was an amazing performance from the team. The car was mega so I could push. We were fast throughout the whole race, and at the end, I could focus to see it out. It was still a very tough race with a few too many close calls. It was very easy to lock-up a tire – which I did a couple of times, but I was pushing because I wanted to have the biggest lead possible. It’s nice to have Oscar on the podium too. He drove well, and we got a lot of points, so a good way to thank the team for their hard work.”

Red Bull Might Lose Out on Title Race

The last 3 race weekend have exposed some flaws in the Red Bull camp. The team has had a rollercoaster of change in terms of personnel this year. We can only assume the recent downfall in performance dominance has something to do with the exodus of talent from Milton Keynes. Verstappen still appears to have the pace to compete at the top for the drivers championship but Sergio Perez is in no mans land.

Perez has failed to find a rhythm this year. This lack of performance has left Red Bull unable to hold onto their early season lead. Despite Verstappen finishing P2 Perez finished P10. Perez saod, “Tonight’s result was a shame I think, we had a great start, but we lost an opportunity to undercut some cars, like we saw Carlos and Ferrari do. It was really unfortunate, after passing three cars at the start, it then became a tricky race. It was frustrating and I think we missed out a bit on the strategy side. I struggled quite a lot with the car bouncing and the balance, it was just not settling down, I had a real issue with it. It became impossible to overtake Franco and Niko, We understand where the issues are, there is a fix but this was a very difficult track for us. It is now time to look forward for the rest of the season, the upcoming tracks should be better for us and we are looking at a package which should help us.”

To make matters worse Oscar Piastri finished P3 which again meant McLaren hauled in more points to start building a late season lead in the constructors championship.

Singapore Grand Prix Results

Lando Norris kept the ball rolling for McLaren after he set the fastest lap in qualifying to secure yet another pole position ahead of Max Verstappen in P2. McLaren solidified themselves as the constructors championship leaders after Azerbaijan. With pole position Norris looks to extend that lead for the first time this season as Red Bull continues to struggle to find answers to McLaren’s late season surge. Verstappen has been very open about his concerns surrounding his Red Bull. However, this weekend he seems to have turned a different cheek. Its clear that this weekend is shaping up to be a battle between Norris and Verstappen at the front.

P3 was a bit of a surprise as Lewis Hamilton emerged as the third fast driver to secure a second row start in tomorrow’s race. Hamilton said, “We’ve been moving around on balance all weekend and they’ve put in a big shift to get the car into a good place. We are now starting from a solid place to fight for the podium tomorrow. We don’t know exactly where our race pace will be compared to others, but with the changes we made overnight, it felt like we had improved since Friday. We’ll be giving it everything on Sunday.”

The Top Three Finishers from Qualifying Share Their Thoughts on the Session

Lando Norris

“It was tough in Qualifying today, I was finding it difficult to go quicker and it put me under a little bit of pressure, especially with just one lap to get it right. The car felt good though, it’s been strong all weekend and when you have that, you’re confident, you can go out and push to get the lap time you need. So, I did the job I had to do to thank the team for their hard work and I’m excited to see what we can do tomorrow.”

Max Verstappen

“I am very happy with second today and it is great to start the race on the front row tomorrow. Huge credit goes to the Team for all of their hard work; they came up with some great solutions and made a lot of changes to the car overnight and it made a huge difference.

The car was a lot nicer to drive, we could attack the corners a bit more and we really maximised our performance today. I had a better feeling with the car and kept on improving it as yesterday was very tough. On paper, this is not a good track on the calendar for us, and we do have our limitations on the pace, so this gives us a lot of hope in the coming races that we can do well. To come out and finish where we did today is an amazing result for qualifying.”

Lewis Hamilton

“I’ve been working really hard to improve my qualifying performances and to get myself back up at the front on a Saturday. The car came alive today and we had one of our strongest Saturdays in a while. That was a great feeling. Having just one effort in Q3 after the red flag was tricky, and there was perhaps a little bit more left in the car, but overall, I am really grateful for what we achieved today.”

Qualifying Results from Singapore

After it was announced that Red Bull Sporting Director Jonathan Wheatly would be leaving the team to take a role at Sauber/Audi as Team Principal Lambiase has been promoted within the Red Bull camp. The new roll for Lambiase will include full control over all track side activity with a direct reporting structure to Red Bull Technical Director, Pierre Wache.

Red Bull has some shuffling going on internally after multiple departures including Adrian Newey who has signed with Aston Martin for the 2025 season. Whether Red Bull will remain as the dominant force we’ve seen over the past 3 year is yet to be determined. Its clear that the well oil machine that is the Red Bull F1 team isn’t rolling the same way they were at this point last season. The move appears to be a positive one for Lambiase. It is not yet clear who will assume the role of Max Verstappen’s engineer.

Oscar Piastri missed out on pole in qualifying but was able to find the pace to turn his efforts into a win on Sunday this aftrnoon for the Azerbaijan grand prix. The win marks Piastri’s second win in Formula One. Despite McLaren esolidifying themselves as the car to beat. The end of the race came down to a 4 driver showdown between Piastri, Carlos Sainz, Segio Perez and Charles Leclerc battling it out. However, the unthinkable happened when Perez and Sainz came together after a failed pass by Perez on Leclerc. Both drivers crashed out of the race with one lap to go. The race ended under a virtual safety car. At the end of the drama McLaren overtook Red Bull as the constructors championship leader.

Oscar Piastri Spoke on the Win

Piastri said, “P1! I’m so happy to have won my second Grand Prix. This is the best win of my career. I’m proud of what we did today. I tried at the start of the race to get in front, but once I dropped out of DRS, I just didn’t have the pace. After the stop, I saw we were pretty close again, and I felt like we had a little bit of extra grip. I had to go for it because I knew that if I didn’t get past at the start of the stint, I was never going to get past. So, I went for a pretty big lunge, but managed to pull it up, and then hung on for dear life for the next 35 laps. It was hard work, but I think that definitely goes down as one of my better races.

“We’re now leading the World Championship. It’s a massive team effort and everyone at McLaren deserves full credit for the turnaround that’s happened in my 18 months here. The car has improved, but I think they’ve helped me improve as well: 12 months ago, I definitely wasn’t capable of achieving results like this. I’m excited to see what the future holds.”

Full Azerbaijan Grand Prix Results

Chares Leclerc secured pole position ahead of McLaren driver Oscar Piastri who walked away disappointed from the session. It was a great day for the Ferrari with Carlos Sainz finished P3 in the session giving Ferrari one of their best starts of the season. Leclerc said, “I’m satisfied with my lap today. This is a track I’ve always felt comfortable on and I’ve been happy with the feeling in the car from the start of the weekend. We barely changed anything from FP1 in terms of set-up, which is quite rare, and I knew that the confidence was there. Tomorrow will be a long race and tire management will be key, so we will focus on that and give it our all to bring home another victory for our team.”

Gasly is Disqualified for Over Fuel Flow Breach

The FIA stewards summoned Gasly and Alpine for discussion surrounding the finding regarding an alleged breach noting Article 5.2.3 of the FIA Formula One Technical Regulations – regarding the exceedance of the instantaneous fuel mass flow. The statement read.

“The Technical Delegate reported that Car 10 [Gasly] exceeded the permitted 100Kg/h fuel mass flow on the final timed lap of Q2,” read the note from the stewards confirming the Alpine driver’s disqualification.

“The team representatives explained that they had an unexpected short duration technical fault that raised the fuel mass flow greater than expected in a transient fashion. The cause was agreed by the FIA technical staff.

“That the fuel mass flow was greater than the limit at that moment was not disputed by the competitor. The competitor demonstrated to the Stewards that the technical fault resulted in a slower lap time and that no performance advantage was obtained at that moment. Thus, they argue, this should be taken into mitigation. They also noted that the great rarity of breaches of this article demonstrates that this is not part of their strategy, and that the scale of the transient simply exceeded the margin they maintain to prevent a breach.”

Alpine Team Principal Oliver Oakes Comments on the Decision

Looking ahead to the race tomorrow, the car seemed to improve each session and the pace looked more promising over the long runs. It’ll be a tough race from where we’re starting tomorrow. This track has shown in the past that opportunities can quickly present themselves to move up the order and we need to be there to capitalize on it.”

Qualifying Results