Circuit of The Americas: The Ultimate Track Guide

Norris led the opening stages on Sunday on his 100^th Grand Prix appearance, but Verstappen claimed victory in both races over the 2023 United States Grand Prix weekend.

Daniel Ricciardo returned to the AlphaTauri cockpit for the 2023 United States Grand Prix having recovered from the hand injury he sustained at Zandvoort earlier in the year. With this being a Sprint weekend, there was just one hour of practice before qualifying for Sunday’s Grand Prix began.

Charles Leclerc secured Friday’s pole position in a close four-team fight between Ferrari, Red Bull, Mercedes and McLaren. Max Verstappen had set a time good enough for pole but the lap was deleted due to him exceeding track limits.

It was close again in Saturday’s Sprint Shootout, where Verstappen secured the front spot, with Leclerc, Lewis Hamilton and Lando Norris all less than 0.101 seconds slower. Leclerc challenged Verstappen into Turn 1 at the start of the Sprint but didn’t make the move stick, which allowed Hamilton to take his second place.

All drivers had started on the medium tyres except Carlos Sainz, who made up one position to run fourth on his soft tyres after passing Lando Norris by the end of Lap 1. By Lap 10, the McLaren had found its way back past the Ferrari and Sainz lost more places to Sergio Perez’s Red Bull on the next lap and to George Russell on Lap 14.

Lance Stroll retired from the Sprint in what was turning out to be a disappointing weekend for Aston Martin. Verstappen secured victory in the Sprint by just under ten seconds, finishing ahead of Hamilton and Leclerc.

On Sunday, Leclerc and Norris lined up on the front row and it was the McLaren which led after Turn 1 following a speedy start. Leclerc then came under pressure from Ferrari team-mate Sainz later around the lap but managed to stay ahead. By Lap 6, Hamilton found his way by Leclerc for second place.

Esteban Ocon and Oscar Piastri were early retirements in the Grand Prix, while Verstappen – who had started sixth – began his rise through the field, passing both Ferraris. Verstappen pitted at the end of Lap 17 and when Hamilton pitted on Lap 21, the Red Bull was ahead on track with only Norris ahead of him. By Lap 28, Verstappen was on the McLaren’s tail and made his move at Turn 12.

It was expected that Norris would try to make a one-stop strategy work but he pitted for the second time at the end of Lap 34. Verstappen pitted two laps later, coming out just a few seconds ahead of Norris. Unable to make a one-stop work, new leader Hamilton then pitted on Lap 39, while on-track Verstappen passed Leclerc to resume the lead.

From there, Verstappen led all the remaining laps and claimed yet another win in the 2023 season and the 50^th of his career. Hamilton overtook Norris for second place in a close fight between the British duo.

After the race, however, both Hamilton and Leclerc – who had finished sixth – were disqualified from the race due to excessive wear on their rear skid blocks. It promoted Sainz onto the podium, while both Williams were promoted into the points. That made Logan Sargeant the first American driver to score a point in over 30 years, doing so on home soil.

While polesitter Sainz was eliminated on Lap 1, Verstappen’s victory at Circuit of The Americas aided Red Bull to their first Constructors’ Championship win since 2013. 

There was one eye on the future in Free Practice 1 for the United States Grand Prix, with a number of drivers making guest appearances, such as Logan Sargeant, Theo Pourchaire, Alex Palou and the returning Antonio Giovinazzi – the latter doing himself no favours in the quest for a Haas seat in 2023, crashing out early on in the session. 

Ferrari set the fastest two qualifying times, with Carlos Sainz taking pole position on pace for the second time in his career. Charles Leclerc was second but moved down to 12^th on the final grid, promoting Max Verstappen onto the front row. Verstappen’s Red Bull team-mate also had a grid penalty, dropping him to ninth and seeing both Mercedes drivers line up on the second row. 

Verstappen jumped ahead of Sainz at the start of the race, while the Ferrari was tagged by George Russell at Turn 1. Verstappen had a healthy lead from Hamilton at the end of the first lap, while polesitter Sainz was forced into retirement. Russell picked up a five-second time penalty for the incident.

Aston Martin had a strong start to the race, with both cars running inside the top six. They soon started losing positions, however, when faster cars behind – the likes of Perez and Leclerc – came by. Nicholas Latifi encountered a spin, as did Valtteri Bottas on Lap 18 bringing out the Safety Car. The Safety Car was well timed for both Leclerc and Sebastian Vettel, who each pitted under Safety Car conditions.

Racing resumed for only half a lap before the Safety Car was called out again, this time as a result of Fernando Alonso colliding with the rear of Lance Stroll’s Aston Martin. The Canadian was given a three-place grid drop at the next race for causing the crash. Stroll was out of the race, while Alonso was miraculously able to continue despite being airborne in the incident. 

As the race passed its halfway point, Leclerc went wheel to wheel with Perez, passing him for third place. Verstappen and Leclerc both pitted a few laps later, with the Dutchman delayed by a slow stop, allowing Leclerc to pass him. Verstappen soon battled back on track but faced some difficulties passing the Ferrari. He finally made it past on Lap 39.

Having not yet made a second stop, Vettel led the race for a few laps – the last time he would do so in his career – until he was passed by Lewis Hamilton. Hamilton led without needing to make another stop, with a four second margin over Verstappen.

Verstappen caught Hamilton with six laps to go and the pair duelled for the lead. Verstappen was able to get ahead and stay ahead, securing victory. On fresher tyres, Vettel was on a charge towards the end of the race, coming back from outside the points to pass Kevin Magnussen for eighth place on the final lap. Hamilton and Leclerc joined Verstappen on the podium. 

Perez’s fourth place ensured Red Bull won their first Constructors’ Championship since 2013. It was a particularly emotional day for the team, with Red Bull founder Dietrich Mateschitz having passed away over the race weekend.

400,000 fans attended the 2021 United States Grand Prix, where Max Verstappen took another win in search of his first title.

Formula 1 returned to Circuit of The Americas for the first time since 2019 following an enforced break due to the coronavirus pandemic. Valtteri Bottas, Sebastian Vettel, Fernando Alonso and George Russell all took grid penalties after using new power unit parts.

It was a familiar sight at the front of the grid, with Max Verstappen lining up alongside Lewis Hamilton. Verstappen attempted to cover Hamilton’s pass on the run into Turn 1, but the Mercedes driver took the advantage. The McLaren and Ferrari drivers went wheel to wheel on the opening lap, with Lando Norris very nearly completing a double overtake on his team-mate and Carlos Sainz.

After the first round of pit stops, it was Verstappen who emerged ahead thanks to the undercut. Fernando Alonso battled with the Alfa Romeo drivers, encountering contact with Kimi Raikkonen and being forced to give a position back to Antonio Giovinazzi after gaining an advantage off track. Alonso later became one of three retirements from the race – team-mate Esteban Ocon and his fellow Frenchman Pierre Gasly were also resigned to the sidelines.

Verstappen made his second stop with 26 laps to go, while Hamilton came in two laps later. Hamilton chased Verstappen to the line, but was unable to prevent the Dutchman from winning. Verstappen took victory by little over a second. The McLaren/Ferrari battle raged on as Ricciardo and Sainz made contact, with the Australian eventually coming out on top. Of the drivers who started from the back, Bottas and Vettel were able to recover to points-paying positions.