After Max Verstappen clinched the world drivers’ championship in the last race, his team would do the same for the constructors’ championship today in Austin at the United States Grand Prix.
Red Bull Racing wins its first team championship since 2013 in the midst of an extremely tumultuous time. The England-based Formula One team is currently navigating findings by the sports governing body that it exceeded the financial cost cap for the 2021 season with accusations of cheating being hurled at the team by its competitors.
Red Bull has thus far denied these findings and is determining whether to accept a settlement agreement or fight the matter.
Additionally, the team’s owner Dietrich Mateschitz, an Austrian billionaire, died Saturday in the middle of the race weekend that would likely serve as a coronation for his team’s 2022 championship.
Heading into Sunday’s race, Carlos Sainz of Ferrari had secured pole position in qualifying, while Verstappen would begin second after various grid penalties were assessed on drivers taking new engines and parts.
However, Sainz’s advantage would not last the first turn as Verstappen started brilliantly and took the lead. As cars bunched up to make the first turn, Mercedes’ George Russell collided with Sainz sending the Spaniard spinning out of control and, unfortunately, out of the race due to the damage.
With Ferrari needing to outscore Red Bull by 19 points in Austin, the loss of one of their drivers all but assured Red Bull’s team title, assuming both cars finished the race in a points position.
Russell would later be assessed a five-second pit stop penalty for causing a collision on track.
Meanwhile, Red Bull’s Sergio Perez quickly moved up the order despite suffering damage to his car’s front wing in an early turn contact with another driver. Ferrari’s remaining driver, Charles Leclerc, more gingerly moved up the field, but once he found his pace, he began a truly relentless drive to the front of the grid.
As the race settled in, it looked like a sure runaway for Verstappen as he rapidly added distance between him and Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton and the rest of the order began to stabilize. However, two successive safety cars created chaos and opportunity for drivers to shake up the race.
The first was caused by Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas losing his rear end and spinning off track and into the gravel, beaching his car and ending his day. As stewards removed his car from the track, the order bunched up tightly behind the safety car.
Several drivers, including Leclerc, had not yet pitted for new tires yet, and the first safety car provided an opportunity for a cheap pit stop. Under normal conditions, an average pit stop at Circuit of the Americas takes about 21 seconds, but under safety car conditions, the average drops to about 11 seconds.
In a sport where hundredths of a second regularly make the difference, ten seconds is a windfall for any driver.
After Bottas’ car was clear, racing resumed, but not for long. Alpine’s Fernando Alonso ran into the back of Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll, sending Alonso airborne and crashing into the track wall, while Stroll spun out with devastating damage.
Amazingly, Alonso was able to limp to the pitlane and replace his damaged front wing, and put on a fresh set of tires to continue the race. Unfortunately, what was shaping up as an amazing race day for Stroll ended with the crash.
With racing resuming again, Verstappen once again began to pull away. Hamilton, still in second, was first to enter the pit lane for what was the final set of tires for the race.
Verstappen followed suit soon after but suffered one of his worst pit stops of the year, as his crew could not lock on his front-left tire. All told, the stop cost Verstappen 11 seconds and send him tumbling down the order.
Making matters worse, Verstappen came out directly behind Leclerc and would have to get by the Ferrari driver to challenge again for the lead, which would be no small task.
“It’s a long way to go,” Verstappen’s race engineer told him soon after the pit stop debacle.
“You don’t need to tell me that,” Verstappen replies.
With about twenty laps remaining, Verstappen went on the hunt. After a successful battle with Leclerc, the Dutchman set his eyes on Hamilton, who was now more than 3 seconds ahead in the race lead and looking for his first victory of the 2022 season.
And while it looked as if Hamilton would be able to hold him off, Verstappen ultimately retook the lead with a handful of laps remaining and would never look back, capping off his thirteenth win of 2022 and taking down the team championship in style.
Hamilton crossed the line in second, followed by Leclerc, Perez, and Russell.
Driver of the Day honors went to Aston Martin’s Sebastian Vettel, who led the race briefly and, if not for an absolutely devastating 16-second pit stop, likely would have finished in the top five. But despite the setback, Vettel battled to the bitter end to take home 8th place, reminding fans of what made him a former four-time drivers’ champion.
The next race is one week away at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez in Mexico City.
