Verstappen beats Hamilton, Leclerc in 2022 US GP as Red Bull clinches team crown

MANILA: In a thrilling finish to the action-packed 2022 F1 United States Grand Prix, Max Verstappen prevailed over Lewis Hamilton, and his Red Bull team won their first constructors' championship since 2013.

A day after Red Bull co-founder and owner Dietrich Mateschitz passed away, Verstappen set a record with his 13th victory of the year — and the team won the championship. This was the team's milestone fifth F1 constructors' championship, which sparked emotional celebrations in Milton Keynes.

As Red Bull won the constructors' championship for the first time since 2013, Verstappen's victory for the team was his 13th of the year, tying Sebastian Vettel and Michael Schumacher for the most victories in a single campaign. Red Bull won their eighth race in a row at the 2022 F1 US Grand Prix, falling only one short of their team record set in 2013.

Verstappen is the first driver to win twice in the USA in the same year since Alan Jones triumphed at Long Beach and Las Vegas in 1981. Verstappen also won the 2022 F1 Miami Grand Prix.

Verstappen won the race for the 33rd time, matching his usual win record and, incidentally, surpassing the combined F1 victory total of all American drivers.

Verstappen's second-place start means that the front row has now won 10 out of the last 10 Austin F1 races.

At the US Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes made his 307th career start in Formula One. He is currently fourth in the all-time list behind Fernando Alonso of Alpine, and retired F1 drivers Rubens Barrichello and Kimi Raikkonen.

Hamilton continued his streak of placing in the top four at each Formula One race contested in Austin by taking second place at the 2022 US GP. Hamilton came the closest to winning in 2022 when he finished 5.023 seconds behind Verstappen.

Ferrari's Charles Leclerc reclaims second place in the drivers' championship by two points over Red Bull's Sergio Perez with his P3 finish at the 2022 F1 US GP.

Leclerc's current race marked his fifth straight podium result, the longest sequence of his Formula One career. Leclerc finished on the podium for the first time ever in Austin.

Verstappen appeared to be headed for a smooth victory at the Circuit of The Americas after taking the lead early on and avoiding the drama behind when Ferrari's Carlos Sainz and George Russell collided at Turn 1. Verstappen handled multiple Safety Car restarts and kept his pace under control.

However, a sluggish last pit stop allowed Hamilton and the recuperating Charles Leclerc to pass both of them, and the defending world champion did so with only six laps left to take the checkered flag first.

Leclerc saved a podium finish for Ferrari as the Italian team mathematically pulled out of contention for the constructors' title. Despite his valiant attempts, Hamilton had to settle for second place, prolonging Mercedes' quest for a 2022 victory.

Leclerc rose from P12 on the grid after his power unit modifications thanks to a cheap stop under an early Safety Car, which was activated by Alfa Romeo's Valtteri Bottas's slide into the gravel. Perez took fourth following his own engine penalty.

Russell, who finished in fifth after picking up a five-second time penalty for his collision with Sainz, pitted late to record the fastest lap on soft tires after maintaining a comfortable lead over Lando Norris of McLaren, who finished in sixth.

Following Sebastian Vettel of Aston Martin and Kevin Magnussen of the one-stopping Haas, Fernando Alonso finished the race in seventh place after overcoming an engine penalty and a dramatic collision — which sent the Spanish driver airborne — with Lance Stroll of Aston Martin midway through.

Alonso would eventually finish in P15 as a result of a protest-related 30-second time penalty, which caused the cars ahead of and behind him to all advance.

Vettel's efforts, like Verstappen's, were hindered by a late last stop. After starting in a solid points position, he had to battle back to eighth, passing Magnussen at the last curve on the penultimate lap to win the "Driver of the Day" title.

Yuki Tsunoda of AlphaTauri, who started last on the grid due to an engine penalty, also benefited from the excitement of the 2022 F1 US Grand Prix by finishing 10th (later upgraded to P9), ahead of Esteban Ocon of Alpine, Alex Albon of Williams, and Zhou Guanyu of Alfa Romeo.

Following his struggles in qualifying, Alpha Tauri’s Pierre Gasly had another eventful race. He was given a time penalty behind the Safety Car that was not fully served in the pits, which caused him to finish 13th once Alonso's penalty was taken into account.

Mick Schumacher finished in P15 (later P14), unable to match Haas teammate Magnussen's point-scoring performance on the more traditional two-stop strategy. Daniel Ricciardo's McLaren and Nicholas Latifi's Williams were the last vehicles to cross the line behind Alonso.

“It was tough one. It was all looking good and then, of course, the pit stop was a bit longer than we would like, so I had to fight my way forward again. But we gave it everything out there today,” said race winner Verstappen.

“Of course, it’s a very difficult weekend for us, so this one is definitely dedicated to Dietrich himself. What he has done for everyone... the only thing we could do today was win and, even though after the pit stop it was not looking great, I gave it everything out there and pushed it to the limit to come back.”

From October 28 to 30, F1 travels directly from the United States to Mexico for the following World Championship round at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.

Photos from Formula 1

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