
Round 19 is in the books at COTA (Circuit of the Americas; nickname for Austin Grand Prix), and boy what a race it was. From start to finish, COTA brought the fireworks fans hoped it would bring. This race once again illustrated the season's unpredictability, showing how one can never truly know what will happen.
Before we jump into the current standings for both Championships and analyize what happened at the US Grand Prix, a couple of things to mention:
Authors Note 1: The Formula One Season has two main championship competitions. The first is the Drivers' Championship, which is a competition between the individual drivers. The drivers who finish in the top 10 each weekend will score points (the higher you place, the more points you get). These points are added up, and whichever driver finishes with the most points at the end of the season will win the Drivers' Championship. The next is the Constructors' Championship, a competition between the teams. The number of points the drivers within a team get each race is combined, creating the total points for the team (E.g., Lando Norris has scored 297 points, and Oscar Piastri has scored 247 points, giving the McLaren team 544 points in the Constructors' Championship). The team whose drivers accumulate the most points combined for their team will win the Constructors' Championship.
Author's Note 2: This weekend's race was conducted in a Sprint-style format. A Sprint race is a race with fewer laps that gives the drivers an opportunity to score extra points. However, unlike the main race, only the top 8 drivers score points, with fewer points given out. This format is meant to not only help the drivers, but also give the fans more racing action. Instead of the normal weekend format (Three practice sessions, qualifying, and the race), a Sprint weekend format is a little different. There is only one practice session, and two qualifying sessions (one for the Sprint race and one for the main race). The Sprint race occurs between the sprint qualifying session (AKA sprint shootout) and the main race qualifying session.
Author's Note 3: 23 drivers will be listed in the Drivers' Championship. Oliver Bearman was a replacement driver for Carlos Sainz for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix and Kevin Magnussen for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. Also, Franco Calapinto has replaced Logan Sargeant at Williams, and Liam Lawson has replaced Daniel Ricciardo at RB for the remainder of the season.
Here is a look at the current Drivers' and Constructors' standings after the race weekend:
Drivers' Championship Standings:
Max Verstappen 354 points
Lando Norris 297 points
Charles Leclerc 275 points
Oscar Piastri 247 points
Carlos Sainz 215 points
Lewis Hamilton 177 points
George Russell 167 points
Sergio Perez 150 points
Fernando Alonso 62 points
Nico Hulkenberg 29 points
Lance Stroll 24 points
Yuki Tsunoda 22 points
Alexander Albon 12 points
Danny Ricciardo 12 points
Kevin Magnussen 8 points
Pierre Gasly 8 points
Oliver Bearman 7 points
Franco Colapinto 5 points
Esteban Ocon 4 points
Liam Lawson. 2 points
Zhou Guanyu 0 points
Logan Sargeant 0 points
Valtteri Bottas 0 points
Constructor's Championship Standings:
McLaren 544 points
Red Bull 504 points
Ferrari 496 points
Mercedes 344 points
Aston Martin 86 points
Haas 38 points
Racing Bulls 36 points
Williams 17 points
Alpine 13 points
Kick Sauber 0 points
Standings were found at F1.com.
Alpine

Looking at the weekend as a whole, Alpine showed some signs of promise. For the Sprint, Esteban Ocon qualified 17th and finished 15th, while Pierre Gasly qualified 12th and finished 14th. For the main race, Ocon qualified 13th and finished 18th, while Gasly qualified 7th and finished 12th.
Alpine had a good weekend in Austin, which was definitely unexpected. After a streak of poor performances, the team was able to show flashes that their pace could compete with the midfield. Gasly looked very quick, as his qualifying pace for the main race was quite impressive. Ocon, though off of Gasly's pace, did not look too bad himself. He was very close to Gasly in the sprint and would have finished in the top 15 had he not pitted at the end of the race to get the fastest lap of the race (this awarded Ocon a point).
Alpine has a lot to be happy about after this weekend, and will look to keep the momentum going in Mexico this coming weekend. Though Mexico has a very different track layout than COTA, Alpine will have to adjust accordingly if they want to compete in the midfield.
Aston Martin

Aston Martin had a very disappointing weekend in Austin, coming away without a single point this weekend. For the Sprint, Fernando Alonso qualified 14th and finished 18th, while Lance Stroll qualified and finished 13th. For the Grand Prix, Alonso qualified 8th and finished 13th, while Stroll qualified 14th and finished 15th.
Aston Martin had a great opportunity to score points, but they failed to deliver. They did not capitalize on Alonso's main race qualifying result, while also showing no real pace in the sprint or the Grand Prix. Haas, RB, and even Alpine at times, looked quicker than Aston Martin this weekend, which is not a positive sign.
Alonso also looked much quicker than Stroll once again. If it hadn't been for a scuffle with RB driver Liam Lawson, Alonso most likely would have beaten Stroll in both the sprint and Grand Prix. Since the end of the summer break, Stroll hasn't even come close to scoring points, yet Aston Martin refuses to address it. As said after most weekends, if Stroll can't keep up with Alonso, Aston Martin needs to look at their future, and if Stroll can help them achieve what they are trying to achieve.
Ferrari

Wow. Just wow.
Ferrari exceeded all expectations this past weekend, and they could not have asked for a better result. For the Sprint, Charles Leclerc started 3rd and finished 4th, while Carlos Sainz started 5th and finished 2nd. For the main race, Leclerc qualified 4th and won the race, while Sainz qualified 3rd and finished 2nd.
Ferrari produced one of the most unexpected weekends this season. Having been the only top-tier team to bring zero upgrades to their car, the expectation was that they would compete for a top five or six finish. Instead, they got a podium in the sprint and a 1st and 2nd place finish in the main race.
What was even more impressive was that it was not that close. Leclerc made an outstanding move during the first corner of the race. Max Verstappen and Lando Norris pushed each other wide, and Leclerc took advantage, climbing from 4th to 1st after the first corner of the race. Once that happened, Ferrari never looked back, dominating the rest of the race and bringing a 1st and 2nd place finish for the team.
If this didn't convince the world that Ferrari has a legitimate car that can compete for wins on any given weekend, I don't know what will. Having brought zero upgrades, yet still dominating the Grand Prix in the fashion they did, was incredible. McLaren and Red Bull should be concerned with their lack of pace to the Ferrari drivers going forward. Ferrari is still within striking distance in the Constructors' Championship, and could make some waves as the end of the season approaches.
Haas

Haas impressed this past weekend, with both drivers producing string results. In the Sprint, Nico Hulkenberg qualified 6th and finished 8th, while Kevin Magnussen qualified 8th and finished 7th. For the Grand Prix, Hulkenberg qualified 12th and finished 8th, while K-Mag qualified 9th and finished 11th.
Hass was right there all weekend long, consistently fighting for points. What was most encouraging was the consistency both drivers showed this past weekend. Though consistency is something we have come to expect from Hulkenberg, Magnussen was also surprisingly very quick around COTA. Finishing in front of Hulkenberg in both the sprint and main race qualifying, Magnussen had arguably his strongest, most consistent weekend of the season.
Due to the strong performance of the drivers and the pace the team's car provided, Haas has now moved ahead of RB in the Constructors' Championship Standings, taking over 6th place. Haas has a lot to fight for as we approach the conclusion of the season, with Austin being the start of their attempt to close out 6th place in the Constructors' Championship.
Kick Sauber

It seems almost robotic at this point. Sauber showed once again how abysmal their car is, and their lack of intent to make it any better. For the Sprint, Valtteri Bottas qualified 19th and finished 20th, while Zhou Guanyu qualified 20th and finished 19th. For the main race, Bottas qualified 18th and finished 17th, while Zhou qualified 20th and finished 19th (which was last place due to Hamilton's DNF)
It is always a struggle to analyze Sauber's performances, as they are almost always the same. Lack of pace, lack of effort, and lack of intent to spend money developing the car are always the main themes with Sauber. You can't imagine a season ever going worse than how Sauber's season is going so far in 2024.
McLaren

McLaren did not have the weekend they were hoping to have, as they were unable to cut down Max Verstappen's lead in the Driver Standings. For the Sprint, Lando Norris qualified 4th and finished 3rd, while Oscar Piastri qualified 16th and finished 10th. For the main race, Norris started 1st and finished 4th, while Piastri qualified and finished 5th.
McLaren just could not set a good pace this past weekend. Even with the new upgrades, they seem to have lost ground to the pace of Verstappen and the Ferraris.
The biggest controversy of the weekend was regarding Norris and Verstappen. Norris was in a brilliant fight with Verstappen all race long, however, he received a 5-second penalty for forcing Max wide and gaining an advantage. Though it is believed by many that Norris did what Verstappen did to him multiple times during the race, Norris got penalized, and Verstappen didn't, which lost Norris a podium finish, and a chance to put into Verstappen's lead. What do I think? I think both drivers should have gotten a penalty by the looks of it. However, what Max did was just bordering on the right side of the rules, while Norris maybe wasn't. I do think if the FIA weren't going to penalize Verstappen, they shouldn't have given one to Norris. Just let them race!
Mercedes

Everything started ok for Mercedes this past weekend, but it ended up turning into a disappointment. For the Sprint, George Russell started 2nd and finished 5th, while Lewis Hamilton started 7th and finished 6th. For the Grand Prix, Russell started from the pit lane (19th) and finished 6th, while Hamilton also started from the pit lane (20th) after qualifying 19th, and did not finish the race.
You might be wondering, why was it a poor weekend if Russell was able to go from 19th to 6th? Well, the answer to that is, this weekend could have been so much more for Mercedes. The team clearly had the pace this weekend to keep up with teams like Red Bull and McLaren, but they missed all the opportunities they had (specifically in qualifying and the main race) to put themselves in a position to do so. In the main race, Hamilton had a fantastic start, moving up all the way to 11th in just 10 laps. However, a mistake was made when he took on too much of a corner, which spun out his car, leaving it beached in the gravel. With Russell, yes he made up a ton of ground, however, if he was able to do that, one can only imagine what result he could have produced if he didn't start so far behind.
Mercedes need to find more consistency with its car if they want to end the season strong. Silly mistakes need to be avoided, and better results need to be produced if they want any chance of ending the year with a podium or race win.
Racing Bulls

RB had a very solid weekend in Austin, producing a strong result as a whole. For the Sprint, Yuki Tsnuoda qualified 9th and finished 11th, while Liam Lawson qualified 15th and finished 16th. For the main race, Yuki qualified 11th and finished 14th, while Lawson qualified 15th and finished 9th.
The biggest positive to come out of COTA was that RB finally has a pair of drivers that can compete with one another. Throughout this season, Tsnuoda was consistently outpacing Daniel Ricciardo. Lawson instantly brought a fight to Tsnuoda that RB and Red Bull have been looking for. For his first race this season, Lawson looked fantastic. Providing the team points in your first race of the season, while also beating your teammate, was nothing short of impressive.
With Perez struggling once again, Red Bull could now have a serious competition on their hands for that second seat alongside Verstappen. Yuki has been great all season long, but Lawson instantly reminded everyone why he should have been in the RB seat to begin with. If Lawson and Tsnuoda keep providing this sort of result, it seems inevitable that one of them is bound to join Red Bull next year.
Red Bull

Red Bull had a weekend we are accustomed to seeing from them. For the Sprint, Sergio started 11th and finished 9th, while Max Verstappen started 1st and finished in 1st. For the Grand Prix, Perez qualified in 10th and finished 7th, while Verstappen qualified 2nd and finished 3rd.
Verstappen did exactly what he needed to do in COTA. As long as he kept Norris behind him and extended his Drivers' Championship lead, it was a win for him and the team. Though it was not easy, Verstappen was able to do that, but the question remains whether or not he did it cleanly. There were multiple instances where Verstappen appeared to purposely take a wider path out of a corner, which forced Norris either off the track or to back out from his attempt to overtake. Verstappen was never penalized for these actions, yet Norris was when he did something very similar to Verstappen. Max has always been known for his cheeky and aggressive driving style. That is what makes him so great. However, it seems like he is now pushing the limits of what the rules allow a little too much.
Perez, on the other hand, showed once again he can't drive the Red Bull effectively. Outside of Azerbaijan, Perez struggles basically every race weekend to produce a result that a driver in a Red Bull should produce. He's also costing them valuable points in the Constructors' Championship as well. Ferrari is only eight points behind Red Bull now. With Ferrari's car looking rapid, seems like only a matter of time before they take over second in the Constructors' Championship. Though the car has not been as good this year as it has been in the past, you can't help but think that Red Bull have sacrificed their place in the Constructors' Championship by keeping Perez in the car.
Williams

Williams had a positive weekend overall in Austin. For the Sprint, Alex Albon qualified 18th and finished 17th, while Franco Colapinto qualified 10th and finished 12th. For the main race, Albon qualified and finished 16th, while Colapinto qualified 17th and finished 10th.
Though the actual results were all that great, Colapinto's finish in the main race alone made this weekend a win for Williams. Colapinto proved once again that he is a legitimate driver that deserves to be in F1. Having outdone his teammate once again, Franco produced another points finish, making his way through the midfield brilliantly.
On the other side of things, Colapinto's form since entering F1 is not a good look for Albon. Has the experienced driver of the team who is supposed to set the standard, the fact Albon has struggled to keep up with Colapinto is a very bad sign. Since joining Williams, Albon's teammates have been terrible, but now, when having a quality teammate, is folding under the pressure. It makes you wonder how much of Albon's good results were a result of his past teammates' poor driving rather than his ability.
It would be an absolute shame if Colapinto was without a seat in 2025, as there is only one seat left, which is at Sauber (which will become Audi in 2026). Colapinto more than deserves that seat, however, it is not that simple. Maybe, if Albon continues to struggle, team principal James Vowles might have to look into the future of the team.

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Catch you next time!
-Matt Hylen
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