In Formula 1, Ferrari achieved a remarkable double in the USA, but the celebration remained incomplete.
At the start, Charles Leclerc took advantage of the battle between Lando Norris and Max Verstappen, took the lead and by the end of the race at the Circuit of the Americas his only concern was that one of the drivers behind would do something stupid. Departing Carlos Sainz finished second and the Scuderia’s cars left their rivals with a chance at third place for the first time in the US since 2006.
Then in Indianapolis the legend Michael Schumacher won, followed by Felipe Massa. The double is under #87 for Ferrari, the previous one was in Australia this season (1. Sainz, 2. Leclerc). The first in history was in 1951 in Italy, then the legend Alberto Ascari won, followed by the Argentine Jose-Froilan Gonzalez.
However, some disappointment occurred shortly before the award ceremony. Pirelli had planned special cups in the shape of pilots – with gold, silver and titanium helmets for the first, second and third respectively.
However, the people at the official tire supplier have been informed that the design of the Heroo awards conceived by the Italian Machiavelli (because the pilots are the real heroes) could create a copyright problem and lead to a scandal. Thus, Pirelli handed Leclerc a much more ordinary cup, and Sainz and the third Verstappen received tires on which their place in the final was marked and there was an American flag.
The real battle in Austin was for third place. Red Bull messed up Max’s strategy and after exiting the pits, Lando Norris (McLaren) ended up with slightly fresher tires. He quickly caught up with Verstappen, but despite all the attacks, the three-time world champion masterfully defended himself.
Norris still overtook, but received a 5 second penalty for leaving the track with all four wheels. Thus, in the general classification, Verstappen already leads by 57 points over Landau.