2024 F1 Round 19 United States Grand Prix: Leclerc takes the lead on lap one and wins, Ferrari claim first US one-two in 18 years, Norris drops to fourth after penalty

The 2024 Formula 1 United States Grand Prix, Round 19 of the season, was decided over 56 laps at the Circuit of The Americas in the early hours of 21 October, Beijing time. Charles Leclerc moved from fourth on the grid into the lead on the opening lap and took the chequered flag in 1:35:09.639 for his third win of the season. Carlos Sainz finished second, 8.562s behind, giving Ferrari their first United States Grand Prix one-two since 2006. Max Verstappen was third after Lando Norris, who crossed the line third, dropped to fourth following a time penalty. RB’s Yuki Tsunoda finished 14th.

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The decisive move came at Turn 1 on the opening lap. Verstappen lunged down the inside of pole-sitter Norris, and the two ran wide after entering the corner side by side. Leclerc, starting fourth, seized the opportunity to jump into the lead, followed by Verstappen, Sainz and Norris. Further back, Alexander Albon and Esteban Ocon collided, with Ocon spinning to the rear of the field. On lap three, Lewis Hamilton spun off on his own at Turn 19 and became stuck in the gravel, bringing out the first Safety Car in ten races. Leclerc resisted Verstappen’s attack at the restart to retain the lead and never gave his rivals another opening.

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Most drivers stayed out under the Safety Car to extend their opening stint, but third-placed Sainz made an early stop on lap 21 for hard tyres, using the undercut to move ahead of Verstappen into second. He then gradually reduced the gap to his team mate, but Leclerc’s lead was secure and he ultimately won by 8.562s. It was Ferrari’s first one-two in the United States since Michael Schumacher and Felipe Massa finished first and second at Indianapolis in 2006, and reduced their gap to McLaren in the constructors’ standings to 48 points. “I’m still in the championship fight. There is a long way to go in the season, and this is a good start to the triple-header,” Leclerc said afterwards.

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The final podium place produced an intense battle between the two title contenders. After his pit stop, Norris had tyres six laps younger than Verstappen’s and repeatedly used DRS to apply pressure, but could not complete a clean pass. On lap 52, he went past off the track at Turn 12 and crossed the line third. The move brought a five-second time penalty that dropped him to fourth in the final classification, leaving Verstappen on the podium by 0.9s.

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Oscar Piastri followed his team mate home in fifth. George Russell recovered to sixth from a pit-lane start following his qualifying crash, ahead of Sergio Pérez in seventh. Nico Hülkenberg was eighth, bringing four points home for Haas at its home race. Liam Lawson finished ninth and hard-tyre starter Franco Colapinto tenth, followed by Kevin Magnussen in 11th, Pierre Gasly in 12th and Fernando Alonso in 13th.

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Tsunoda had a promising start, passing Alonso and Pérez on the opening lap to move up to eighth. After Pérez retook the position on lap 17, Tsunoda made an early switch to hard tyres on lap 18. He received a five-second penalty for forcing Albon off the track while passing him on lap 27, then spun on his own at Turn 1 on lap 41, dropping to 14th, where he finished. “That was definitely my mistake,” he admitted afterwards, while also questioning the team’s tyre strategy. Team mate Lawson enjoyed an excellent weekend: starting 19th, he gained five places on the opening lap, subsequently passed both Aston Martins and reached the points positions by lap 18. He delayed his first stop until lap 36, emerged to pass his team mate and ultimately took two points for ninth. Five drivers, including Lawson and Colapinto, started on hard tyres, with the rest on mediums; three of the hard-tyre starters finished in the top ten. Hamilton, who spun out on lap three, was the race’s only retirement.

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The championship heads to the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez in Mexico City one week later.

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