Beautiful one-two by Leclerc and Sainz in Austin. Ferrari only 8 points behind Red Bull in the Constructors' Championship

Austin, what a race! After a long and unnatural break of no less than four weeks since the last race in Singapore, the rumble of the 6-cylinder hybrid Formula 1 in Texas saw a sparkling Sprint race (Verstappen, Sainz and Norris on the podium) but above all a Sunday race that was different from expectations and able to shake off many prejudices about emblazoned teams and drivers.

An American dream translated into red domination, from start to finish. And guaranteed hysterical season finale. An unexpected one-two from Leclerc and Sainz brings Ferrari back to success on the Austin track. The last one was in 2018, at the hands of the unforgettable Kimi Raikkonen: the only one in his last season at Maranello and also the very last first step on the podium (out of twenty-one in total) of his career, which ended three years later in Alfa Romeo.

For Leclerc, yesterday's was his eighth Grand Prix win, the third in 2024 (Sainz remains on one, in Australia). Thanks also to the invaluable help of Carlos Jr. (also second on Saturday, in the Sprint), the standings of the last few days have therefore changed dramatically: Ferrari is now eight points behind Red Bull, recovering a good twenty-two only yesterday, which is extremely important for the fight in the Constructors' Championship. Where McLaren is alone and probably unreachable, while Red Bull could finally become 'prey' of the prancing horse, given that the decision to keep Perez in the second seat has meant picking up very few points: no surprises from him, except perhaps a possible 'swan song' in the upcoming home race scheduled in Mexico in just seven days' time.

Red satisfaction aside, yesterday, in the second of the three grand prix races scheduled in the United States, we witnessed one of the most heated battles of the season between Max Verstappen and Lando Norris right at the end, after an average race that was calm except at the start. Both were on hard tyres, like most of their rivals, but with an advantage for Norris, who could count on tyres six laps fresher than those of the Dutch champion. Despite this, Verstappen staged a relentless defence, making the most of the trajectories and kerbs of the Texan circuit, making any attempt to overtake the young British driver difficult. The duel between the two reached its climax in the final laps, when Norris took advantage of a braking error by Verstappen to attempt a decisive attack. However, Verstappen, with his usual skill and aggressiveness, held out until the last breath. Norris, with his mobile wing open, launched himself into several overtaking attempts, but each time the Dutchman closed the door, keeping control of the position.

The final fight between Norris and Verstappen almost stole the show from the splendid performance of the two Ferraris. However, the fight to the death between the two was too hard, at least according to the race officials. In fact, despite Verstappen's resistance, with only a few laps to go Norris finally managed to overtake him. He hoped to have done well but instead took a five-second penalty, which allowed Verstappen to retake third position and climb onto the podium: all for a clear track limits violation, although Verstappen was also suspected of doing so to a lesser extent.