‘The last few laps were fun’, says Verstappen after edging out Hamilton in Austin

Verstappen
came
out
on
top
in
an
enthralling
race,
pipping
his
title
rival
by
1.333
seconds
in
Austin.

It
marked
Verstappen’s
first
race
win
in
the
United
States,
with
Red
Bull’s
decision
to
pit
early
in
Sunday’s
race
paying
off.

Mercedes
told
Hamilton
it
was
“all
about
the
final
three
laps”
and,
though
the
reigning
world
champion
came
close,
he
just
did
not
have
enough
to
overcome
Verstappen,
who
takes
a
12-point
lead
into
the
final
five
races.

Verstappen
holds
his
nerve
in
Austin
to
take
12-point
championship
lead

Verstappen
has
now
won
eight
races
in
2021.
Only
in
2016,
when
Hamilton
lost
out
to
Nico
Rosberg
despite
winning
10
grands
prix,
has
a
driver
who
has
collected
at
least
eight
victories
failed
to
win
the
championship.

Red
Bull
did
not
have
it
all
their
own
way,
with
Hamilton
coming
from
second
on
the
grid
to
nip
ahead
of
Verstappen
with
a
brilliant
start,
but
the
Dutchman
regained
the
lead
and
held
his
nerve.

“We
lost
some
time
at
the
start,
so
we
had
to
try
and
do
something
else,”
Verstappen
said.
“The
tyre
wear
is
quite
high
around
this
track,
so
we
had
to
go
aggressive
but
I
wasn’t
sure
if
it
was
going
to
work.

“The
last
few
laps
were
fun.
A
bit
sideways
through
the
high-speed
corners,
but
super
happy
to
hang
on.”

Your
Top
10
in
Texas
????#USGP
????????

#F1
pic.twitter.com/Uem1QuyivD

—
Formula
1
(@F1)

October
24,
2021

Hamilton
was
left
frustrated
by
Mercedes’ decision
to
pit
late
during
the
Turkish
Grand
Prix
two
weeks
ago,
but
on
this
occasion,
the
Briton
–
who
has
won
a
record
six
times
in
the
United
States
–
had
no
such
complaints.

“Congratulations
to
Max,
he
did
such
a
good
job
today,”
Hamilton
said.
“It
was
such
a
tough
race,
had
a
good
start,
gave
it
absolutely
everything
but
at
the
end
of
the
day
[Red
Bull]
just
had
the
upper
hand
this
weekend.

“I
couldn’t
have
asked
for
more,
a
big
thank
you
to
my
team
for
great
pit
stops,
great
work
throughout
the
weekend.”

Both
Verstappen
and
Hamilton
also
hailed
the
140,000-strong
crowd
at
the
Circuit
of
the
Americas,
with
F1
returning
to
Austin
for
the
first
time
since
2019
due
to
the
coronavirus
pandemic.

“What
an
amazing
crowd,
to
perform
in
front
of
you
guys
is
such
an
honour,”
Hamilton
added.
“I
think
this
is
definitely
our
acceptance
into
the
US.

“What
a
place
to
be,
I
hope
we
have
more
races
out
here,
hope
the
sport
continues
to
grow
because
you
can
see
how
great
the
fans
are.”

Verstappen
echoed
the
sentiment,
saying:
“[The
fans]
have
been
incredible.
It’s
amazing
to
be
here
and
to
see
so
many
of
you
around
the
track.”

Red
Bull
had
a
great
day
all-round,
with
Sergio
Perez
coming
in
third
to
seal
the
team’s
200th
F1
podium.

Perez’s
efforts
were
made
even
more
outstanding
by
the
fact
the
water
system
in
the
Mexican’s
car
had
a
malfunction,
leaving
him
unable
to
take
on
any
fluid
in
scorching
track
conditions
in
Texas.

“Struggled
massively.
You
know,
since
lap
one,
I
ran
out
of
water.
I
couldn’t
drink
at
all,”
he
said.

“I
think
by
the
middle
of
my
second
stint
it
was
starting
to
get
pretty
difficult,
you
know,
losing
strength.
I
think
my
toughest
race
ever,
physically.”