Formula 1 is back in COTA for Round 19 of 24 of the 2024 season. Here’s what happened last season at COTA.
Having clinched the 2023 Formula 1 World Championship title in the previous round, Qatar, it was Max Verstappen who still went on to cross the finish line first in COTA. However, the weekend was not as straightforward as most of the 2023 rounds were.
Double quali
Max Verstappen was expected to cruise his way to yet another pole position. However, some things are easier said than done. Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc were fast that Saturday, making it a three-way fight for pole position.
Hamilton was fastest in Q1, and third in Q2, whilst Leclerc was fastest in Q2. Q3 was tight. Leclerc was flying and had provisional pole up until Verstappen snatched it from him. The Stewards however deleted the Dutchman’s lap for exceeding track limits, dropping him to P6. Hamilton settled for P3, unable to lap a faster time than the Monagasque, and Lando Norris who slotted into P2.
At the back of the grid , Daniel Ricciardo and Fernando Alonso shared the spotlight. Shockingly knocked out in Q1, was Alonso. This marked the first time in 2023 he was unable to make it to Q3. As for Ricciardo, it was his first weekend back in action since the Dutch Grand Prix where he broke his hand during FP2.
At the Sprint shootout, Max Verstappen was the man to watch. The Red Bull driver was fastest in every session, taking pole for the Sprint race. Charles Leclerc was in P2 every session, losing out on pole by just five one-hundredths of a second.
Despite Mercedes being in the mix during Qualifying for the main event with Lewis Hamilton fighting for pole, the pace wasn’t quite there during the Sprint. It was P5 and P9 in Shootout 1 and P8 and P9 in Shootout 2 for George Russell and Hamilton respectively. In Shootout 3, Hamilton found pace again, with his time earning him a P3 start. The 7-time champ was only six one-hundredths of a second behind Verstappen. Russell was P8.
Sprint to the main event
Aston Martin who had brought ‘season-defining’ upgrades to Austin continued to suffer woes that weekend. Their double DNF – Lance Stroll during the sprint and Alonso during the main race – coupled with lack of pace in the Shootout as well as Qualifying summed up how far the Silverstone-based team had fallen from the graces they enjoyed at the start of the season.
The top three of the Sprint were Verstappen, Hamilton and Leclerc. Hamilton took P2 from Leclerc on Lap 1, whilst Verstappen comfortably drove his way to victory, a 9.4-second lead.
Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton were the protagonists that weekend in COTA. On race day on Sunday, the two had difficult starts, Leclerc from pole and Hamilton from P3. McLaren‘s Lando Norris who started between the two had a brilliant start, taking the lead before getting to Turn 1. Leclerc fell to P2, while Hamilton and Sainz battled, with the Ferrari coming out on top after Turn 1. Verstappen meanwhile gained a place, sitting in P5 just behind Hamilton.
By Lap 4, Hamilton regained P3 from Sainz who had been battling with his teammate Leclerc. A lap later, Verstappen also overtook Sainz. On Lap 6, Hamilton got past Leclerc, with only Norris ahead of him by over two seconds.
The other McLaren of Oscar Piastri retired after contact with Esteban Ocon’s Alpine. Ocon retired too, with that being his sixth DNF of the season – more than anyone else on the grid.
On lap 39, our protagonists, and F1’s 2023 protagonist – Verstappen – the Dutchman took the lead of the race which he went on to win. Hamilton finished in P2, just two seconds behind 2023’s champion. Mercedes got the strategy right, but a slow pitstop for Hamilton had people questioning what could have been.
Our protagonist in red had a rather infuriating end to his COTA race. From pole to P6, Ferrari’s strategy calls had shambolic consequences for Leclerc. Ferrari went for the one-stop strategy, which Mercedes had opted out of when Hamilton pitted at the end of Lap 38. It cost Leclerc what was a sure podium finish.
Fine margins
Hamilton’s slow pit stop potentially cost him a win, while Leclerc’s one-stop strategy cost him a podium. As if things couldn’t get worse for the pair, the Circuit of The Americas had one final blow.
After the race, officials announced that the Mercedes and Ferrari drivers – who will soon be teammates at Ferrari – were under investigation. The race officials randomly selected cars number 44 and 16 for inspection after the race. The FIA Technical team spotted irregularities after conducting a plank wear inspection.
Hamilton and Leclerc’s cars breached Article 3.5.9 e) of the 2023 FIA Formula One Technical Regulations, which states that: “The thickness of the plank assembly measured normal to the lower surface must be 10mm ± 0.2mm [plus or minus 0.2 millimetres] and must be uniform when new. A minimum thickness of 9mm will be accepted due to wear, and conformity to this provision will be checked at the peripheries of the designated holes.”
COTA’s bumpy nature alongside the Sprint weekend’s complicated schedule definitely played a part, but the FIA did not make a move to check other cars and decided to stick to the “standard penalty” – disqualification for both drivers.
View this post on Instagram
What to expect in 2024’s edition, this weekend
2024 has not turned out to be Max Verstappen’s season, as 2022 and 2023 had. The Dutchman finds himself in a title fight with McLaren’s Lando Norris. Despite having a healthy 52-point lead with 6 rounds to go, Norris is still in mathematical contention for the WDC. Verstappen will not find it easy to maintain his lead as Red Bull are continuing to struggle, and McLaren proving to be faster than the RB20 was even in the first round of the season when Verstappen would win with a 20+ second gap.
“Talking of this season and Max and Lando, it’s unfolding. We’re entering a really crucial phase in the USA and Mexico and Vegas.” – former Williams and McLaren driver Juan Pablo Montoya speaking to Gambling Zone.
McLaren are expected to be the fastest, as they have been since Miami. However, a battle is still expected. Red Bull and Verstappen are still capable of winning races, should the car handle well enough for the Dutchman. Ferrari are also capable of winning races, with a few surprise boosts in pace at some rounds this season. Ferrari and Red Bull may manage a miracle in a few days time.
What is worth noting though, is that COTA is a track that heavily favours Mercedes. It is a track they have mostly always done well at, even during their sorrowful 2022 and 2023 seasons. Lewis Hamilton in particular, is known for standing out in Austin. No one has more race wins at COTA than Lewis Hamilton. He has won the race 6 times in 12 chances. With 2 race wins under his belt this season, he too cannot be counted out. To his further advantage, Mercedes will be bringing significant upgrades to COTA.
Haas will be another team to watch, as they will be bringing upgrades to the VF-24 this weekend. Sitting just three points behind VCARB/RB in the Constructors’ Championship standings, the American team could jump to P6 at the Chequered flag come Sunday.
With COTAs recent resurfacing, it will add another interesting factor to this year’s edition of the United States Grand Prix.
