Verstappen fends off Hamilton to win 2022 United States Grand Prix

All the joy Sainz felt following his Saturday pole position came crashing down quite literally in the first corner. Sainz had a poor getaway, but then George Russell hit the Ferrari driver from the side who was forced to retire. Whilst Sainz was handed bad luck, Leclerc received the opposite in his hunt through the field. The man from Monaco was given a free pitstop when the safety car came out to recover Bottas' car. And gained a position on his rival when Red Bull had a problem with the front-left wheel gun during Verstappen's second stop. 

Leclerc and Verstappen then engaged in a fantastic battle that the 2022 F1 season needed more of. Alike Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, the two drivers changed places twice on the same lap but it was the World Champion who came out on top. Verstappen then had to overtake his 2021 title rival to claim the victory. Hamilton now only has three races remaining to keep his record of winning one race in every season of his career.

Sergio Perez finished the race in fourth place, ahead of Russell in fifth. It was a good day for Sebastian Vettel who led the race at one point. A bad pitstop pushed him down the field, but he picked up 8th place for his efforts. 

Fernando Alonso and his future teammate Lance Stroll crashed heavily after the first safety car restart. Alonso nearly flipped and hit the barrier at speed, but managed to continue. Stroll's car was too badly damaged to continue after Alonso hit him at the rear whilst trying to make an overtake. Alonso recovered through the field to finish seventh. 

The race started following a tribute to the Red Bull co-owner Dietrich Mateschitz who passed away ahead of qualifying. Former Red Bull driver David Coulthard led a one-minute applause across the paddock. 

On the grid

Sainz secured his third F1 career pole position after a solid lap on Saturday. The qualifying result suggested that he'd have his Ferrari teammate alongside him, but Charles Leclerc picked up a ten-place grid penalty for taking new parts. This pushed Verstappen up to second place on the grid, with Lewis Hamilton and George Russell claiming the next two spots. Lance Stroll had a rare top-five start in his Aston Martin. Hamilton reported brake issues on his way to the grid, and the Mercedes mechanics worked hard to change the brakes fully on both sides. The top 12 all started on medium tyres. 

Verstappen blasted out of the box and got the better getaway compared to Sainz. The Dutchman led into the first corner and got through cleanly. Russell then collided with Sainz who spun. Ferrari then retired the pole-sitter as Russell picked up a five-second penalty. The first few laps were ferocious with varies battles and overtakes throughout the field. On lap three Verstappen opened up a two-second gap on Hamilton. 

Initially, Hamilton managed to maintain the gap. The Brit reported on the radio some front tyre wear and Verstappen started to increase his advantage. On lap 12, he had a five-second lead and looked set to manage the race. In those laps, Leclerc had managed to gain five places but sat a pit-stop time behind the leaders. 

Undercut?

Alfa Romeo had a slow stop with Valtteri Bottas but proved the undercut worked. He almost managed to come out ahead of Pierre Gasly. Mercedes opted for Hammer-Time and pitted the seven-time World Champion for hard tyres though any undercut attempt for them would be extreme given the five-second gap. Red Bull Racing covered it off with Verstappen a late later regardless. The Dutchman moved out ahead of the traffic Hamilton experienced. 

Bottas dropped it into the gravel on lap 18 causing a safety car. Leclerc had moved into P2 and then took a cheap pitstop to return in P3 behind only Hamilton and Verstappen. The World Champion executed the restart perfectly but needed to do it again after a heavy crash towards the back of the grid including Alonso and Stroll. Despite nearly flipping and hitting the barrier hard, Alonso managed to continue on his way via a pitstop. 

Hamilton looked closer to Verstappen down the home straight second time around, but Verstappen executed the restart perfectly again. He opened up a full second gap within one lap. Hamilton stayed within 1.5 seconds and pitted on lap 35 to try to the undercut. Red Bull reacted within one lap but Verstappen's pit crew had a terrible stop. He dropped far behind Hamilton and even Leclerc. 

Leclerc and Verstappen then engaged in a fantastic battle that the 2022 F1 season needed more of. Alike Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, the two drivers changed places twice on the same lap but it was the World Champion who came out on top. With 15 laps left, Hamilton had a 3.5-second lead on Verstappen to defend.