Lessons to take away from the 2022 United States Grand Prix

Few can deny that Max Verstappen's brilliant fightback to take victory and seal the deal for his team didn't make for a fitting tribute.

United States Grand Prix in a file photo (Image credits: Twitter)
By Niranjan Shivalkar | Oct 29, 2022 | 9 Min Read follow icon Follow Us

The Formula One constructors’ championship battle is always second to the fight for the drivers’ championship. Not helping the end-of-the-year show, Red Bull was all but certain to win its first teams’ trophy since 2013 heading into last weekend’s United States Grand Prix in Austin. Nonetheless, at an event where the death of Red Bull co-founder Dietrich Mateschitz was announced, few can deny that Max Verstappen’s brilliant fightback to take victory and seal the deal for his team didn’t make for a fitting tribute, even if the cloud of allegedly exceeding the 2021 cost cap lingers over the recent success. 

Meanwhile, any hope of a Mercedes comeback will now have to wait until 2023, as Lewis Hamilton was unable to keep Verstappen at bay despite his rival suffering a botched pitstop on a day when both Ferraris and Sergio Perez’s Red Bull suffered setbacks of their own.

New Recruit at Williams 

Logan Sargeant in a file photo (Image credits: Twitter)
Logan Sargeant in a file photo (Image credits: Twitter)

There is now only one vacancy at Haas to fill, alongside Kevin Magnussen. Then the most frantic driver market silly season in recent memory will be over. This comes after Williams announced during the US Grand Prix weekend that American junior driver Logan Sargeant will partner incumbent Alex Albon in 2023. As negotiations between AlphaTauri and Monza supersub de Vries progressed, the odds of Sergeant gaining a place in the top flight dwindled. If he finishes sixth or higher in the Formula 2 season, he will earn enough superlicence points to ensure his promotion. With one round remaining, Nicholas Latifi’s replacement appears to be all but certain. 

The team insists that Sargeant’s call-up was motivated solely by the commercial benefits of having an American driver. Sargeant’s new contract was announced shortly after his FP1 debut, in which he finished 19th, and before he returns to the FW44 cockpit in Mexico. Meanwhile, Latifi did little to help his case. Spins, penalties, and a lack of pace summed up his Austin performance. 

Red Bull to be penalized for overspending 

Max Verstappen during the Styrian GP qualifying. (Image: Twitter/Red Bull Racing Honda)
Max Verstappen’s Red Bull. (Image: Twitter/Red Bull Racing Honda)

While complete transparency will have to wait, the governing body has at least begun discussions with Red Bull about how the team should be punished if it exceeds the $145 million cost cap in 2021. If Red Bull accepts the proposed Accepted Breach Agreement, it will have to admit to breaking the rules. The “minor” overspend is thought to be in the $2 million range. However, the team has always categorically denied exceeding the limit. As a result, if Christian Horner and company maintain their stance, the process should progress to the next stage via the Cost Cap Adjudication Panel. Nonetheless, progress has been made behind closed doors ten months after the event. 

However, given the death of Red Bull co-founder Dietrich Mateschitz, those discussions have been put on hold for the time being. The team issued a brief statement saying, “The deadline for agreement has been extended, and we expect talks to resume [in the] middle of the week.” Rivals, led by Valtteri Bottas and Carlos Sainz, have called for a “strict and harsh” penalty that “really hurts” to ensure the cost cap’s sanctity in future seasons. 

Pitt in the Pits

Lewis Hamilton with Brad Pitt and Tim Cook at the US GP (Image credits: Twitter)
Lewis Hamilton with Brad Pitt and Tim Cook at the US GP (Image credits: Twitter)

Although Tim Cook’s expressionless face while waving the chequered flag suggested otherwise, the excitement surrounding the proposed F1 blockbuster reached new heights in Austin. This was aided by the Silicon Valley behemoth’s presence alongside the film’s producer Lewis Hamilton, with Apple Original Films acquiring the rights ahead of distributing the film via Apple TV in due course. As previously stated, Hollywood superstar (and Martin Brundle grid walk snub) Brad Pitt will star as an over-the-hill F1 star demonstrating how it’s done – Top Gun: Maverick style. 

He was also in Texas to meet with teams and discuss how to best depict F1 on film, ensuring that the blend of CGI and real-world cinematography hits the mark. As primary filming is expected to take place during race meetings in 2023, according to championship CEO Stefano Domenicali, expectations are growing that genuine F1 cars will be used to capture much of the footage.

Some missed Alonso’s car-preserving heroics

Fernando Alonso's Alpine in a file photo (Image credits: Twitter)
Fernando Alonso’s Alpine in a file photo (Image credits: Twitter)

More dissatisfaction was allowed to grow when Fernando Alonso was handed a 30-second penalty for returning to the track in an “unsafe condition.” This is consistent with Kevin Magnussen being cited for a damaged front wing endplate in Singapore, following similar incidents in Canada and Hungary.The FIA explanation, on the other hand, causes consternation “A flapping mirror was dangerous because it could come loose and injure another driver. As a result, this was risky.” However, Alonso was not penalized for the loose mirror for the remainder of the race, with the bodywork eventually breaking free in the wash of Kevin Magnussen on lap 48. 

According to IMSA SportsCar driver Filipe Albuquerque: “If you agree with this [decision], why did you let him run the entire race? You endanger the life of a racing driver and have 34 chances to change that “. Given that Alonso had nursed the once-airborne Alpine back to the pits for a new front wing and rubber, finishing seventh was impressive. However, with the 30-second penalty, it proved to be a futile endeavor.

The Stroll and Alonso episode 

Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll crash during the 2022 US GP (Image credits: Twitter)
Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll crash during the 2022 US GP (Image credits: Twitter)

When it came to their reactions to Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso’s fairly terrifying coming together on the COTA back straight on lap 21 of the 56, ex-F1 drivers, IndyCar champions, and sportscar title winners all seemed to be singing from the same hymn sheet. The pros on social media agreed that the Aston Martin driver was completely wrong for weaving on the straight in his defense of seventh place, and that this unwelcome habit has filtered down the single-seater ladder, so the FIA should send a message. 

As a result of his change of direction, Stroll has a three-place grid drop for the Mexican Grand Prix, and the shunt is far less serious than it appeared when the Alpine’s front axle popped into the air. The normally outspoken Alonso dismissed the shunt as a racing incident, but this could be related to the Spaniard’s switch to Aston Martin for 2023, where his salary will be paid by Stroll Sr. However, the potential consequences were clear, and the stewards arguably missed an opportunity to set a stricter precedent.

Ferrari up for the 2023 challenge 

Bahrain GP Ferrari
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc (L) and Carlos Sainz celebrate after the Bahrain GP. (Twitter: @F1)

“On our side, we’ll try to push for the last four races this season to improve as a team and hopefully put in more of a challenge next year,” Charles Leclerc said after congratulating Max Verstappen on his second coronation in Japan. While the Maranello design team will have their work cut out for them in developing the F1-75 into a machine with the legs and improved tyre behavior to compete with the upcoming RB19, the task for the Scuderia strategy and pitstop department was more obvious: stop making mistakes. While Leclerc failed to win and dropped out of a potential three-way fight for the win at an alarming rate late in the race, and Carlos Sainz was pushed out of contention at Turn 1, there were signs to be cautiously optimistic.

With the pressure of both the driver’s and team’s championships off, Ferrari enjoyed well-executed pit stops with no major sticking wheel nuts or obvious delays. Meanwhile, the timing of the pit stops was much more conventional when compared to some of the more radical and difficult-to-justify decisions that have dogged it in 2022 at Silverstone and the Hungaroring. While the final result was less than Ferrari would have hoped given its driver’s pole position, the errors were not of its own making for this soft 2023 preview. 

Read more: The best ten drivers ever to drive for Ferrari in F1

Mercedes needs a marvel 

Lewis Hamilton in a file photo. (Image: Twitter/ Mercedes-AMG-PETRONAS F1 Team)
Lewis Hamilton in a file photo. (Image: Twitter/ Mercedes-AMG-PETRONAS F1 Team)

The Mercedes W13 is clearly no match for the Ferrari F1-75, let alone the Red Bull RB18, which is set to debut in 2022. Toto Wolff, George Russell, and Lewis Hamilton, the team’s key figures, have long maintained that, despite the downturn, Mercedes can win a race this season. We knew that if that happened, it would take some unlikely combination of circumstances to stymie both Ferrari and Red Bull and give the Silver Arrows an easier run to the finish line. However, it has now become clear that the magnitude of the misfortune those teams would have to endure in order for Russell and Hamilton to win this year is greater than the team previously admitted.

Despite the W13 debuting its final major upgrade package of the season, grid penalties for Sergio Perez and Charles Leclerc, as well as Carlos Sainz being eliminated from Turn 1 and a scuffed 11s pitstop for Max Verstappen, Hamilton was unstoppable. Verstappen had approached 4.5s to close the gap to Hamilton in the final 14 laps after Sebastian Vettel pitted. But he passed the Brit and was back on track for victory with seven laps to go. Hamilton’s lack of straight-line performance in the draggy W13 was most brutally exposed when he lost the lead to a DRS pass and then barely closed to the RB18 on the straights when he gained the overtaking aid. With three races remaining, it appears unlikely that Mercedes will enjoy such favorable conditions again in the limited window. As a result, a winless season for the first time since 2011 beckons.

Red Bull become the 2022 constructors’ champion

The Red Bull Racing team for 2022. (Image: Twitter/ Oracle Red Bull Racing)
The Red Bull Racing team for 2022. (Image: Twitter/ Oracle Red Bull Racing)

Matching Ferrari’s points total alone at the Circuit of The Americas would have guaranteed Red Bull its first constructors’ championship since 2013. It was a matter of ‘when’ to finally settle the teams’ trophy. Not ‘if’. Nonetheless, Red Bull prevailed thanks to Max Verstappen’s victory and Sergio Perez’s fourth-place finish. With Charles Leclerc finishing third and Carlos Sainz being punted out of the race at Turn 1 by George Russell, the Scuderia failed to overcome the extremely long odds that it would keep the title race alive for much longer. Both championships have now concluded. 

Of course, many will doubt Red Bull’s success in light of allegations that it exceeded the 2021 cost cap. They’ll wonder if any of that overspending contributed to the team’s adaptation to ground effects, or if the team has strayed again this season. Nonetheless, the math now officially recognises what we’ve seen for the majority of the campaign. The RB18 has been the car of the season, Milton Keynes’ strategists and mechanics have been generally sound, and Verstappen has led the team to victory with distinction.

Verstappen hungry for more 

Max Verstappen after getting pole in US GP qualifying. (Image: Twitter/F1)
Max Verstappen after getting pole in US GP qualifying. (Image: Twitter/F1)

Max Verstappen is now tied for first place. With 13 victories this season, he joins Michael Schumacher (2004) and Sebastian Vettel (2013) in having the most successful season in F1 history. With three rounds remaining, he could extend his lead even further and claim the record for good. Even after becoming World Champion for the 2022 season his most recent victory was hard fought. Verstappen had to overcome a failed front-left wheel gun, which resulted in a painful 11s stop, before passing Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton as the race neared its conclusion. He accomplished this by maintaining the fastest average speed of anyone and performing deft maneuvers on the Ferrari and Mercedes. 

Verstappen has stated that he has only ever desired one world championship. Everything else is a bonus. Despite clinching the 2022 title in Japan and admitting he can relax for the remaining rounds, the Dutch ace’s performance on Sunday was outstanding. His desire and composure in wheel-to-wheel combat appear to have not suffered in the least.

Dietrich Mateschitz was an absolute legend 

Dietrich Mateschitz in a file photo (Image credits: Twitter)
Dietrich Mateschitz in a file photo (Image credits: Twitter)

And the pacing of the constructors’ championship to wrap up Red Bull’s drought was perfect. It served as a sort of homage to Red Bull co-founder Dietrich Mateschitz, who died last Saturday at the age of 78 after a long illness. Thanks to Sebastian Vettel, Daniel Ricciardo, Alex Albon, and others, his impact on getting on for half the grid is clear and celebrated here. 

But it wasn’t just those who benefited from Mateschitz’s support who paid tribute. As the paddock mourned, his rivals showed their respect. Toto Wolff, team manager at Mercedes, said of his compatriot: “one of the world’s greatest and most visionary entrepreneurs Dietrich Mateschitz’s contribution to Formula One was unprecedented.”