The final six races of the 2025 season are now upon us and the schedule now ventures to the United States and the Circuit Of The Americas. It is a track that has become a modern classic, inviting engrossing racing, as the stand-out moments from last year's race shows.
Verstappen's return to the front
By this point, in 2024, Max Verstappen had not won a sprint or race since June's Spanish Grand Prix. But as his team restlessly sought to protect his championship lead, the Dutch driver had a car that started the sprint from pole and stayed there until the chequered flag.
He bettered George Russell to the first corner and then pulled away from title rival Lando Norris to win the sprint comfortably, by around three and a half seconds.
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Ferrari duel
One of the most amazing battles of the entire 2024 season was an intra-team Ferrari battle, one that ended in the favour of the departing Carlos Sainz.
Initially trailing George Russell, the pair of them exchanged places going into the uphill turn one and the other tight hairpin of turn 12. Sainz then claimed the battle with a bold overtake into turn 15 and then passed Lando Norris on the final lap to finish second, with Leclerc crossing the finish line behind both of them.
The battle of the Scuderia 🥊
— Formula 1 (@F1) October 20, 2024
Good hard racing between team mates Leclerc and Sainz brought the entertainment early in yesterday's #F1Sprint 🤩#F1 #USGP pic.twitter.com/9IJmw0ed7J
Turn One chaos
Despite being on the dirtier side of the grip, the inside line into the first corner can be a very powerful weapon. Verstappen knew that, when he started alongside polesitter and championship rival Lando Norris, and he chanced an overtake that sent the McLaren completely off-track and the Red Bull driver ahead.
But while they were squabbling and not quite hitting the racing line on the exit of the first turn, Charles Leclerc, who started from P4, passed both championship contenders and Carlos Sainz to steal the lead.
On a Sunday in which the Prancing Horse were the benchmark, Leclerc strolled away from Verstappen and Norris and once Sainz had undercut the championship leader, the Maranello team cruised to a 1-2 finish.
Hamilton spin
At a track in which Lewis Hamilton has won five times at, it was astonishing to see him knocked out of Q1 on Saturday. But despite that, he grabbed a handful of positions on the first lap of Sunday's race, before agonisingly spinning out at turn 19.
The cameras cut to him as he desperately sought to remove himself from the gravel trap, but it was no use. The 7-time champion would not see the chequered flag at Austin for the first time.
Verstappen v Norris
'Momentum killer' was how Lando Norris described his US Grand Prix. Having already been beaten to the first corner by Verstappen, he would catch him back up by the end of the race, but this was only for third place.
Verstappen always had a stronghold of the racing line, forcing Norris to the outside and seemingly impervious to the pressure.
But utilising the DRS down the long straight, between turn 11 and 12, the McLaren driver closed in and edged ahead going into the braking zone. Verstappen out-broke Norris but went deep and off the track. Yet so too did Norris and he would sweep by the Dutchman for third place.
However, the stewards looked at the incident and slapped the British driver with a five-second time penalty that relegated him to fourth and installed Verstappen into third, as he extended his points lead.
A big moment in the race and potentially the season 😮
— Formula 1 (@F1) October 20, 2024
Norris overtakes Verstappen but picks up a 5-second penalty for passing off track ✋#F1 #USGP pic.twitter.com/y1DFXGde0U
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