Max Verstappen took a record 13th win this season, overtaking Lewis Hamilton in the closing laps, who finished just in front of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc. With the Dutchman having already won the world championship, it was Red Bull’s time to celebrate, winning their first constructors title in nine years.
Max Verstappen – 10
He did it again, and he does so race in and race out. Verstappen won by making the perfect race start, to overtake polesitter Carlos Sainz and maintain a lead that looked comfortable.
However, the safety car reduced his advantage and a slow pit stop meant he came out in third place and had to work hard to return in the lead. He did so by assertively overtaking Leclerc and Hamilton.
This is his 13th win this season, meaning he matched a record owned by Michael Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel, a further way to imprint his name in the history books.
Embed from Getty ImagesLewis Hamilton – 9
The chance to win the race was handed to him, but Hamilton fought as hard as he could and put himself in the position to achieve it, coming ever so close this season.
He started from third and was Verstappen’s main rival throughout the race, extracting the maximum from the car and ensuring he had a hard time.
He found himself in first place due to Verstappen’s slow pit stop, but the superiority of the Red Bull in the race was evident and he had to give up with just a few laps remaining.
Embed from Getty ImagesCharles Leclerc – 8
The Ferrari driver didn’t have his best weekend but recorded a career-best streak of five consecutive podium finishes, despite having to start from 12th place, due to a penalty.
He lost out to Sainz on Saturday and was back in the mix due to the safety car, after struggling to clear the Aston Martins in the first stint.
He looked like a victory candidate late on, but his pressure on Hamilton didn’t last and he had to settle for third place, just holding off Sergio Perez.
Sergio Perez – 7
The Mexican driver started from ninth place after a grid penalty but was soon back up in the podium places, with quick opening laps.
However, he damaged his car whilst trying to overtake Bottas and this cost him in the long term, losing out to Leclerc and coming fourth. It won’t please him too much, but it still earned Red Bull their fifth-ever world championship.
Embed from Getty ImagesGeorge Russell – 6
George Russell blew his chances of a podium by going in too hard in turn one and hitting Carlos Sainz, losing time and earning himself a penalty.
Whilst it wasn’t too costly, he had to watch his teammate fight for the win from behind and proved unable to offer a podium challenge, finishing a distant fifth.
Lando Norris – 8.5
Even when McLaren don’t look like the best midfield car (arguably they were eighth fastest at Austin), Lando Norris still managed to stand out, finishing in a strong sixth place.
He started from sixth, but dropped behind in the opening laps, looking like it was going to be a long race. However, he came back alive in the second half, pitting twice and making up seven places with a series of overtakes.
Embed from Getty ImagesFernando Alonso – 8
The Spaniard survived a lucky escape when his car had a wheelie, following a scary encounter with Lance Stroll. The two came together at full speed, with Fernando Alonso lucky to continue.
He made a difference to his teammate Esteban Ocon, driving in front of him by a wide margin and almost finishing as best of the rest despite the damage sustained. It was only with two laps to go that he was overtaken by Norris, still finishing an impressive seventh.
Sebastian Vettel – 8
After a poor qualifying outing, Sebastian Vettel was showing his best Sunday skills, with the benefit of a rejuvenated Aston Martin car, ever more at ease around COTA.
His fast getaway saw him in fifth place, pressurising his teammate Stroll and briefly leading the race before an unlucky pit stop.
He was stationary for more than 10 seconds, dropping down the order, before a heroic late charge, which still earned him six points, with an eighth-place finish.
Embed from Getty ImagesKevin Magnussen – 7.5
Just when it looked like the Dane was not to be involved in the points scrap, he made his medium tyres survive 38 laps, finding himself as high as sixth, after looking to be second-best to Mick Schumacher.
He fought hard, but lost out in the last few laps, still managing to come home in ninth for Haas’ first points on home soil in six years.
Yuki Tsunoda – 7
After 12 pointless races, finally, the Japanese driver was back in the points, finishing the race in 9th, with some late overtakes.
He started from 19th place due to a penalty, but found himself in the top 10 in an opportunistic way, following the safety car coming out.
He looked like a strong contender for the last few laps, but his recovery was not as scintillating as Norris’ and he struggled to progress as much after his late pit stop.
Embed from Getty ImagesEsteban Ocon – 5
For the entire weekend, Ocon was inexplicably off the pace, whilst Alonso was challenging for the best of the rest spot.
He suffered a Q1 elimination and struggled all around, even finishing behind his teammate, in 11th, despite the latter suffering a strong shunt.
Alex Albon – 7
The Thai-Brit driver was not rewarded with points, but still stood out and ran in the top 10 until late on, by choosing not to pit again after the safety car.
He started from eighth place and was racing faster cars around, trying to hold on, but dropping behind Norris, Vettel and Tsunoda, whose faster tyres allowed them through.
Guanyu Zhou – 5.5
The Chinese driver didn’t look at ease as much as his teammate did and finished 13th when the car looked to be competitive.
He started from 18th due to a grid penalty, but never looked like he could perform a comeback, narrowly missing out on the top 10.
Embed from Getty ImagesPierre Gasly – 5
Pierre Gasly came back to life on Sunday but threw away a chance to score points, along with his team, in a simplistic way.
The Alpha Tauri driver lamented brake issues in qualifying, but looked fine in the race and was a top 10 runner for the early part.
However, he earned himself a penalty for not respecting the maximum distance under the safety, earning a further five seconds due to not serving it correctly.
Mick Schumacher – 5
This race might serve as the final blow for Schumacher’s hopes to retain his Formula One seat in 2023.
The German was knocked out in Q1, but made an unexpected recovery, being in the top 10 with just over 20 laps to go.
It all unfolded when he stopped for new tyres, as his progress stagnated and he wasn’t able to catch back up to the points, finishing a distant 15th, whilst teammate Magnussen scored.
Embed from Getty ImagesDaniel Ricciardo – 4
After turning up proudly, riding a horse on Thursday, Daniel Ricciardo did not expect to perform so poorly.
He was distant, as it often happens this season, to Norris, always racing at the back and featuring anonymously, without putting up overtakes to finish 16th.
Embed from Getty ImagesNicholas Latifi – 4.5
After a positive performance in Japan, Nicholas Latifi put up a disappointing display, finishing last in both qualifying and the race.
He was racing in the mix due to penalties around, but spun in the early laps and dropped back, receiving a penalty for pushing off Schumacher.
Lance Stroll – 5
It was a sublime weekend in terms of speed, but Stroll had a large part of responsibility in the incident that put him out of the race and cost Aston Martin a strong double points finish.
He started an excellent fifth and ran as high as third, being in a promising seventh place, just behind teammate Vettel after the safety car.
However, he cut across Alonso as the Spaniard tried to overtake, spinning at dangerous speed in the straight and having to retire.
Embed from Getty ImagesValtteri Bottas – 5
The Finn threw away a chance to return to the points after several months of absence, spinning off in a rare mistake of his own.
Valtteri Bottas looked to resurge in Austin and had a good chance to score by starting from seventh. However, he spun after undercutting Norris, as Alfa Romeo’s advantage on Aston Martin drops to seven points.
Carlos Sainz – N/A
It all went wrong for Sainz, after a heroic pole position on Saturday.
The Spaniard was hit at turn one by Russell and his race was over almost before it started, suffering his sixth retirement of what has been a very unlucky season.
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