Dutch driver Max Verstappen (Red Bull) achieved his 50th victory in Formula 1 this Sunday by winning the United States Grand Prix, the 18th race of the year, after starting from sixth on the grid.
The Red Bull driver completed the 56 laps with a time of 1:35.21.362 hours, leaving Briton Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) in second place at 2.225 seconds, while compatriot Lando Norris (McLaren) in third place finished at 10.730 seconds.
It was the 750th podium with British drivers in Formula 1 history.
This was also Max Verstappen’s 15th victory this season, which equals the maximum number of victories in the same season that he had already achieved in 2022.
With 50 races won, the now virtual three-time world champion occupies fifth place on the list of the most successful races ever in the sport, just one victory behind the Frenchman Alain Prost (51) and three behind the German Sebastian Vettel, who occupies the lowest place . rung of the ladder, podium, with 53.
“It’s incredible to get my 50th win here. Let’s try more,” he promised.
From sixth place, the Red Bull driver took 28 of the 56 planned laps to reach the lead.
After following the unstoppable pace the day before in the sprint race, in which he gained half a second per lap over the competition, he opted for a safer ride today, especially because he felt problems with the brakes from the start.
“In the beginning I didn’t want to destroy the tires and I had problems with the brakes,” Verstappen explained at the end.
With this victory, the Red Bull driver also achieved 466 points in the championship, which represents a new maximum in the history of Formula 1.
At the end of the championship, with the two titles already awarded to Verstappen (the drivers’ title) and Red Bull (the constructors’ title), the focus was the battle for second place.
Lewis Hamilton again made up ground against the Mexican Sérgio Pérez (Red Bull), who only finished fifth today.
The Mexican driver, despite driving a version of the most dominant car in the entire field, has lost ground and today surrendered eight points to Lewis Hamilton, who is now 19 points behind second place with four races remaining .
The next round will be in Mexico exactly within a week.
Source: DN
