Sainz Helps Ferrari to 1-2 as Leclerc Lights Up the F1 U.S. GP

Charles Leclerc snatched a flawless win at the United States Grand Prix Sunday, leading a Ferrari one-two with his teammate Carlos Sainz. From the moment the lights went out, the Monegasque driver launched into attack mode, taking the lead on the opening lap and never looking back. Meanwhile, things got spicy behind him, with a tense showdown between Lando Norris and Max Verstappen, which ended with Norris copping a penalty and slipping to fourth.

Lando Norris started on pole, but his dream lead didn’t last long. He found himself wheel-to-wheel with Verstappen as they barreled into Turn 1, only for the Dutchman to give him the squeeze. That opened the door for Leclerc to swoop in and steal P1. From that point on, Leclerc’s drive was as smooth as butter—no one came close to challenging him. Sainz, meanwhile, played the strategy game, pulling off an undercut during the pit stops that put him ahead of Verstappen and into second. He crossed the line 8.5 seconds behind his Ferrari teammate, with a performance as rock-solid as the Texas tarmac.

But the real drama unfolded in the closing laps. Norris, determined to put his McLaren back on the podium, pulled a gutsy move on Verstappen for P3. But Red Bull wasn’t having it, arguing over the radio that Norris had all four wheels off the track when he made the pass. The stewards agreed, handing Norris a five-second penalty that knocked him down to fourth and let Verstappen cruise into third place.

Just behind them, Oscar Piastri secured fifth, following in his McLaren teammate’s tire tracks. George Russell clawed his way to sixth for Mercedes despite starting from the pit lane, while Sergio Perez brought his Red Bull home in seventh. Nico Hulkenberg grabbed eighth for Haas, giving the home crowd something to cheer about.

Liam Lawson bagged two points with a P9 finish in his first race back for RB, and Franco Colapinto showed some serious flair, bringing his Williams home in P10. Kevin Magnussen just missed out in 11th, with Pierre Gasly and Fernando Alonso trailing behind in 12th and 13th, respectively.

Yuki Tsunoda ended up in 14th after a spin sent him tumbling down the order. Lance Stroll could only manage 15th for Aston Martin, with Alex Albon having a forgettable 100th race start in 16th for Williams.

The Saubers continued their points drought, with Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu down in 17th and 19th, split by Esteban Ocon’s Alpine, which at least snatched the fastest lap point away from Colapinto. And as for Lewis Hamilton, he was the lone casualty of the race, spinning out early and planting his Mercedes in the gravel—ending his day before it ever really began.

FORMULA 1 PIRELLI UNITED STATES GRAND PRIX 2024 – RACE RESULT

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	16	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	56	1:35:09.639	25
2	55	Carlos Sainz	Ferrari	56	+8.562s	18
3	1	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing Honda RBPT	56	+19.412s	15
4	4	Lando Norris	McLaren Mercedes	56	+20.354s	12
5	81	Oscar Piastri	McLaren Mercedes	56	+21.921s	10
6	63	George Russell	Mercedes	56	+56.295s	8
7	11	Sergio Perez	Red Bull Racing Honda RBPT	56	+59.072s	6
8	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Haas Ferrari	56	+62.957s	4
9	30	Liam Lawson	RB Honda RBPT	56	+70.563s	2
10	43	Franco Colapinto	Williams Mercedes	56	+71.979s	1
11	20	Kevin Magnussen	Haas Ferrari	56	+79.782s	0
12	10	Pierre Gasly	Alpine Renault	56	+90.558s	0
13	14	Fernando Alonso	Aston Martin Aramco Mercedes	55	+1 lap	0
14	22	Yuki Tsunoda	RB Honda RBPT	55	+1 lap	0
15	18	Lance Stroll	Aston Martin Aramco Mercedes	55	+1 lap	0
16	23	Alexander Albon	Williams Mercedes	55	+1 lap	0
17	77	Valtteri Bottas	Kick Sauber Ferrari	55	+1 lap	0
18	31	Esteban Ocon	Alpine Renault	55	+1 lap	0
19	24	Zhou Guanyu	Kick Sauber Ferrari	55	+1 lap	0
NC	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	1	DNF	0
* Provisional results. Note – Gasly and Norris received five-second time penalties for leaving the track and gaining an advantage. Tsunoda received a five-second time penalty for forcing another driver off the track.

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Greg Engle

Greg is a published award winning sportswriter who spent 23 years combined active and active reserve military service, much of that in and around the Special Operations community.

Greg has been published in major publications across the country including the Los Angeles Times, the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He was also a contributor to Chicken Soup for the NASCAR Soul, published in 2010, and the Christmas edition in 2016. He wrote as the NASCAR, Formula 1, Auto Reviews and National Veterans Affairs Examiner for Examiner.com and has appeared on Fox News. He holds a BS degree in communications, a Masters degree in psychology and is currently a PhD candidate majoring in psychology. He is currently the weekend Motorsports Editor for Autoweek.

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