Max Verstappen scores record win in Austin and gives Red Bull the title
Max Verstappen impressively won the United States Grand Prix. It was his thirteenth win of the year, tying the Formula 1 record for most wins in one season.
He has joined Germany’s Michael Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel who have also managed to win 13 Grands Prix in a single season.
World title and tribute to founder Red Bull Racing
The win also meant Red Bull took the World Constructors’ Championship with three races to go. Verstappen and team-mate Sergio Pérez, who finished fourth, gave the Austrian outfit the points they needed to clinch the prestigious title, which has gone to Mercedes rivals for the past eight years.
Verstappen’s victory also paid homage to Dietrich Mateschitz, the owner of the energy drink maker who founded the Red Bull Formula 1 team, who died on Saturday.
That was for you, Didi ☝️ #Gives you wings pic.twitter.com/kYpXDyG0pm
— Oracle Red Bull Racing (@redbullracing) October 23, 2022
Max Verstappen had to work hard in Austin
This thirteenth victory did not come to Verstappen. After a hectic start, he appeared to have the race under control, immediately passing Carlos Sainz, taking the lead and retaining the lead after two restarts.
But things went wrong on his second pit stop. An impact wrench stalled, causing the world champion to linger in the pit lane longer than he would have liked to see Hamilton and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc pass him. Verstappen, who had already secured his second world title in the previous race in Japan, felt a bit uneasy about twenty laps before the end. The Dutchman complained about the controllability of his car and said that the wind was also causing him problems. But he also knew his car was fast and his thoughts were certainly with Mateschitz, the man who, in his own words, gave him the opportunity to achieve his dreams in Formula 1.
Attack from third place
The Limburger tried to attack from third place and soon won the fight for second place with Leclerc. Then he opened the hunt for race director Hamilton. Lap after lap, the Dutchman approached the Mercedes of the seven-time world champion and overtook Hamilton with six laps to go with a nice overtaking manoeuvre. He still had to watch his tires and stay within the lines of the track on the final laps, but he couldn’t let the record win go to waste.
Hamilton was second and Leclerc third.