Race Recap: United States, Mexico, Sao Paulo

A triple header is always a welcome treat to any fans of Formula One (F1).?

After all, it's three weeks of action before the championship draws near to a close.?

With three races left, Red Bull and McLaren continue their battle to win both championships, with Ferrari also joining the party. The Prancing Horse is gradually closing after winning two races in this penultimate triple-header.

From McLaren's decline to Ferrari's resurgence, we present the best stories from the United States, Mexico City, and the S?o Paulo Grands Prix.

(All image credits go to Formula One)

Mercedes’ inconsistency returns

Mercedes introduced upgrades coming into Austin. However, it didn’t turn out as the team had hoped.

George Russell and Lewis Hamilton’s weekend was forgettable. The seven-time world champion struggled all weekend, culminating in a DNF after a spin during the early phase of Sunday’s race.

After crashing his car in qualifying, Russell ran under older spec but would recover from his pit lane start to finish sixth ahead of Red Bull’s Sergio Pérez. Nonetheless, the Briton called his W15 a “difficult car.”

Ferrari’s best weekend in USA since 2006

No one expected to see Ferrari on top of the podium, yet here they are after pulling all the stops correctly

As the championship rivals battled in the opening lap, Charles Leclerc saw an opportunity for a sneaky overtake and cruised to his third victory of the year. Teammate Carlos Sainz executed a smooth operation to stand alongside him on the podium.

This result is Ferrari’s best result in the USA since 2006 at the hands of Michael Schumacher and Felipe Massa. No wonder Leclerc is still confident in eyeing the title after the race.

The 2024 US GP is Haas’ best result in their home race.

A Haas resurgence??

After scooping up the expertise of the legendary Toyota Gazoo Racing as a technical partner, Haas’ trajectory is only going to go up, as shown by their positive race results.

Propelled by an upgrade for their home race, Nico Hülkenberg and teammate Kevin Magnussen bagged some points on Saturday. The former would go on to score points in the main race and the latter narrowly missed out.

Hülkenberg enjoyed a strong race after starting from P11 to finish eighth after claiming to have “maximized” his efforts, while Magnussen’s two-stop strategy cost him a points-scoring position.

Max collecting penalties

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen has come under fire for his apparent return to his old self as of late.

He briefly took first place before being overtaken by the pole-sitting Sainz. Now the Dutchman finds himself challenged by his closest rival, Lando Norris. Verstappen forced Norris wide at Turn 4, earning him his first 10-second time penalty.?

The second one isn’t far away after he leaves the track and gains an advantage. He ended up finishing sixth after the penalties have been taken into account. McLaren CEO Zak Brown labelled Verstappen’s actions as “ridiculous.”

Vasseur “perfect weekend” for Sainz

Ferrari shocked their competitors by bagging another 1-2 in Mexico? — a move that propelled Ferrari into P2 in the constructors championship.

After securing the pole on Saturday, Carlos Sainz enjoyed a good run for his second victory of the year, with his teammate completing the lineup. This result saw Red Bull demoted to third in the constructors, a far cry from their form in 2023.

While hailing Sainz's perfect weekend, Vasseur did complain about Leclerc being stuck behind "idiots."

A disastrous home race for the former Minister of Defence

It's no secret that there have been talks about Sergio Perez's performance this season, with rumours of the Mexican getting replaced.

You would've thought driving in your home race would give you that little boost. Sadly, that wasn't the case for Sergio Pérez.

After a terrible qualifying that saw the Mexican get knocked out in Q1 (again), Pérez started well from P18 and soon found himself battling for tenth against the RB of Liam Lawson.

The Kiwi driver refused to get out of the way and maintained that he had given the hometown hero enough space. Had it not been for this skirmish, Lawson was on course for another points finish following his impressive US GP debut.

Pérez eventually finished the race in P17, concluding a home race which the Mexican will wish to forget.

Norris’ championship dreams are getting slimmer

Every point matters for Norris as he attempts to take the crown off Verstappen.?

Teammate Oscar Piastri enjoyed a fine run during the sprint but was instructed to hand over the lead to his championship-fighting teammate, who complied.

The result? McLaren gained a good points haul with a 1–2 and was on the course for more on Sunday after Norris took pole.

Unfortunately, Norris predictably lost the lead to George Russell under rainy conditions but maintained his position right behind his friend’s gearbox. After an “unlucky” VSC and the subsequent red flag, Norris tumbled down to sixth and finished the race in that spot, further hurting his chances of becoming world champion.

Maximum performance in Brazil

The last time Max Verstappen graced the top of the podium was back in June during the Spanish GP, and the post-summer break rounds haven't been kind to him. Red Bull is playing second or even third fiddle to McLaren and Ferrari.

In intense wet weather conditions during the Sao Paolo GP, the three-time world champion took home an "absolutely crazy" victory after starting from P17.

It was undoubtedly one of the Dutchman's best drives as he charged his way to the top while navigating challenging conditions that caught many drivers. With the red flag, Verstappen took advantage of the free pit stop and overtook Alpine's Esteban Ocon for the lead.

A turning point for Alpine?

Alpine's 2024 campaign hasn't been the greatest.

Heading into the Interlagos round, the French outfit had only 16 points, which left them ninth in the constructors. Most recently, the team announced that they would abandon their work engine programme and secured a deal to use Mercedes power units and gearboxes starting in 2026.

During qualifying, Ocon took a shock fourth place, while teammate Pierre Gasly had to start from P13 after a session marred by incidents. Things would turn out even better on the wet Sunday afternoon as their strategy team cooked a beautiful combo of skilful strategy aided by the red flag.

Gasly practically sailed through the wet field and defended well against Russell. In the end, Ocon and Gasly took home the team's first double podium finish since 2013, rocketing them to sixth in the constructors' championship. Gasly credits the team's "refusal to give up" for this success.

What are your thoughts about the United States, Mexico City, and S?o Paulo GPs?

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This newsletter was written by Ghazlan Atqiya Firmansyah and edited by Hew Hoong Liang (Nathan).

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