“Extremely happy to win on this difficult weekend for us. I think this was actually a race he would have loved to see.” A day on from the death of Red Bull co-founder Dietrich Mateschitz leaving Max Verstappen visibly shocked and upset following qualifying, the Dutchman was able to dedicate victory in the 2022 United States Grand Prix to his long-time benefactor. And he did it in style, recovering from a botched Red Bull pitstop to underline his 2022 pedigree, although with a touch of 2021 essence sprinkled in since it was Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes that he defeated.
Heading into the race, Ferrari and Carlos Sainz had represented the opposition after the Spaniard’s clean, calm final Q3 flier had netted him pole position when Verstappen and Charles Leclerc made late errors. But the Italian squad’s victory hopes evaporated instantly at the start. With Leclerc starting 12th after taking yet more engine components past the permitted season allocation, Sainz’s was the sole red car at the front when the lights went out. He reacted fine, but wheelspin after the launch meant a delay in shooting up the hill to Turn 1, which left Verstappen pretty much unopposed running into the lead well before the braking zone for the famous left-hand hairpin. The pair briefly drifted close together before jinking away ahead of turn-in, with Sainz then sweeping sharply left from the outside line to try to rescue the situation, while Verstappen’s inside path meant the Red Bull ran wide and lacked momentum.
But Sainz had no idea what was coming next: George Russell’s nose clattered his left-rear and spun him to the rear of the pack. “I didn’t get the best of starts,” said Sainz, who retired in the pits at
