On a sprint weekend it is always difficult to go home with the top mark. There are too many exams where you can do something wrong. Two qualifications, two races. Charles Leclerc won the USA GP more clearly than any driver before him for a long time, but until he qualified he was overshadowed by Carlos Sainz.
Leclerc did everything right in the race. The highlight of the race was the jump from 4th to 1st in one corner. He took advantage of the duel between World Cup opponents Max Verstappen and Lando Norris immediately after the start. When an early safety car period came to an end, the winner finally disappeared over the horizon. When Sainz’s undercut put him in second place, the Ferrari drivers controlled the race.
xpb
For a long time Carlos Sainz seemed to be the best Ferrari man in Texas, but in the race Charles Leclerc topped the rankings.
Lawson’s great comeback
There were also a few nines behind Leclerc. For example Max Verstappen. The Red Bull is still not a winning car. However, he won the sprint. And he took points from Norris in the race too. Goalkeeper Liam Lawson also achieved a grade 9. He set a panic signal in third place with the best flank and drove from the back of the race to 9th place on a track he did not know.
Franco Colapinto should also be mentioned. Who would have thought that Argentina would be in the points for the second time? Colapinto implemented his team’s alternate strategy like a veteran. So it’s becoming more and more suitable for Sauber.
xpb
Liam Lawson skilfully implemented his team’s tactical instructions and broke new ground for him.
USA GP driver scores
Here’s a look at the driver scores for the USA GP. As always, you can find detailed individual reviews of all 20 pilots in the gallery.
- Charles Leclerc – Rating: 9/10
- Carlos Sainz – Note: 8/10
- Max Verstappen – Note: 9/10
- Lando Norris – Note: 8/10
- Oscar Piastri – Notes: 7/10
- George Russell – Note: 7/10
- Sergio Pérez – Rating: 4/10
- Nico Hülkenberg – Grade: 8/10
- Liam Lawson – Note: 9/10
- Franco Colapinto – Notes: 8/10
- Kevin Magnussen – Note: 8/10
- Pierre Gasly – Note: 8/10
- Fernando Alonso – Note: 6/10
- Yuki Tsunoda – Note: 5/10
- Stroll Lance – Note: 5/10
- Alexander Albon – Rating: 5/10
- Valtteri Bottas – Note: 6/10
- Esteban Ocon – Note: 6/10
- Guanyu Zhou – Note: 4/10
- Lewis Hamilton – Note: 3/10