Verstappen conquers America and Alonso’s epic comeback

Max Verstappen won the F1 United States GP 2022 after correcting an error red bull to a disastrous halt. The Dutchman had to return at the end with his ‘airplane’ energy drink after being relegated to third place. He passed Leclerc (3rd) and Hamilton (2nd) who were powerless to stop the Cyclone Max. The Dutchman added his 13th victory on the course, equaling the record 13 wins in a year held by Michael Schumacher (2004) and Sebastian Vettel (2013) and, with Pérez’s 4th position, confirmed the winning the Constructors’ World title for Red Bull. A whole day to honor the memory of Dietrich Mateschitz, the owner of the team, who died yesterday at the age of 78. The couple who make up Max and his car are in another league and very clearly in Austin. No matter how many stones they put in his way, the Dutchman still wins. Normally, it flies while others try to run. And so the Dutchman could keep winning until he got tired.

RESULTS OF THE UNITED STATES GP OF F1 2022

Sainz’s first accident and Alonso’s later

In the United States they want a show. And they have it. The stands are packed in Texas, with an audience devoted to a sport that has taken the country by storm. Bradd Pitt, Ed Sheeran and many personalities were there, there was a performance by the NBA’s ‘All Star’ pilots, cheerleaders and cowboys on the track, and the interpretation of the American anthem was not to be missed while the public waited, hot dogs or Tex-Mex in hand, for the race to begin. The show outside is complete. The race is gone. There’s one thing Americans really like: accidents and touching, and the Spanish were hurt by both. Sainz was worn by Russell in the first corner and had to retire from pole. And Alonso, on a full comeback, when he was 8th and would have been 7th, collided with Stroll due to a late move in the middle of the Canadian straight. The car from Oviedo went up a few meters, but was able to continue.

Red Bull made a mistake with Max

All that is missing is an exciting battle for victory. Last year, Austin vibrated with a good Verstappen-Hamilton fight. As fate would have it, they were both in first and second positions from the start due to Carlos’ departure, but the race seemed to be controlled by the Dutchman. Even the two ‘Safety Cars’ that appeared on the track seemed to worry the former two-time world champion. However, there was a script twist that gave it a spicy ending that the public wanted.

Like a western movie, ‘Sheriff’ Max gets into trouble when he seems to have everything under control. He lost 5 bullets from his revolver in his last stop. Red Bull, the best team in the pit stops, was wrong this time due to a problem with the gun of the left front wheel. The stoppage lasted 11 seconds. A disaster. Verstappen was relegated to fifth place, the real 3rd, leaving Hamilton in the leading position when Pérez and Vettel retired. Max started 7 seconds behind Lewis, behind Charles Leclerc, who managed to move up to second place after benefiting from a free stop for a previous ‘Safety Car’.

“Nice, very nice”, said Max ironically, furious on the radio at an unfair comment for a Red Bull that gave him the title on a plate with the best car and a perfect race on the rest of the course. His engineer reminded him: “We are together. Keep your head down and keep going.” Verstappen still had a bullet in the room. He was injured and he came out with a knife between his teeth. First, he had to work hard, furiously, to passed Leclerc after a good fight that gave Hamilton some wings. And soon, he went for Lewis. With 9 laps to go, on a medium tire a lap younger than the hard rubber of Lewis, Maz is 2 seconds behind. I’ll give it a shot. It’s very tight and it will be decided as the best of the Westerners, with the current dominator of F1 and the former ‘Sheriff’ of the county.

Max, attack Hamilton

With 6 laps to go, Max was already 1”6 behind. He has the upper hand, especially since he has more straight-line speed. When he turns on the DRS, his car becomes an airplane. A rocket. With just 6 laps to go, on lap 50, Verstappen got his first chance. In the middle of the straight, he caught the Englishman’s slipstream and jumped from his house to pass a Lewis that was moving under the brakes. The Brit left him plenty of room inside, opened the door for him and invited him inside. Thus Max conquers the victory, fulfilling all expectations, even with more suffering than expected.

In this way, Verstappen equaled the record of 13 wins in the same year as Schumacher and Vettel and continues the record for the highest percentage of wins according to the number of races in a year to shoot. To achieve this, you need to win the remaining three. In the plane you drive, it is possible. The next appointment, Mexico, where his teammate Checo, who is 4th, dreams of success at home.

Alonso’s illogical return

Alonso seemed to lose all chances of scoring points on lap 22. He had a great race. He started 14th and by lap 2 he was 11th. He took more risks starting on the hard rubber and setting a good pace. Luck seemed to be on his side though as he took advantage of a ‘Safety Car’ on lap 18 to stop for free. Behind him, with younger average rubber, on the relaunch he went all out. He overtook Gasly and was 8th. The next station will be his partner in 2023, Lance Stroll. The man from Oviedo got what he wanted, and by the time he got out and had his nose up to Lance’s wheel, the Canadian’s move was too late and caused a serious accident.

The Asturian car rose from the front and traveled a few meters like this until it hit the side wall. The most surprising thing is to see that despite the flight and the blow, the Asturian can continue. He stopped in the pits to change his nose and the race seemed lost for him. His car breaks down and has a mirror that won’t stop moving and will eventually fall off. He would do this in one of the subsequent overtakes by Alonso, who, angry at what had happened, performed an incomprehensible recital for the reason. After his accident, Alonso was 16th. From there, an amazing comeback would begin that would take him to 6th place with just a few laps to go. Norris finally caught up to him, on newer 12-lap tires, he overtook him for his minor degradation and took sixth position from him. But then, it didn’t matter. Alonso gave a master class. It’s 7th, but it’s no driver of the day, no doubt.