An engrossing 2021 United States Grand Prix saw Max Verstappen hang on at the end as Lewis Hamilton drew in the Red Bull, but in the end it wasn’t enough for the Mercedes driver.
Verstappen lost the lead off the line and as Hamilton led the first stint of the race, the Dutchman decided to pit early and undercut the Mercedes driver, who himself stayed out a few laps longer.
That looked like it was the key as Verstappen again to his second stop earlier than Hamilton who stayed out longer in order to have fresher tyres for the final laps. The seven-time champion chased down Verstappen but was unable to make the overtake late on.
F1 United States GP 2021 – Full Race Results
| Driver | Team | Time | Points | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | 1:34:36.552 | 25 |
| 2 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | +1.333 | 19 |
| 3 | Sergio Perez | Red Bull | +42.223 | 15 |
| 4 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | +52.246 | 12 |
| 5 | Daniel Ricciardo | McLaren | +76.854 | 10 |
| 6 | Valtteri Bottas | Mercedes | +80.128 | 8 |
| 7 | Carlos Sainz | Ferrari | +83.545 | 6 |
| 8 | Lando Norris | McLaren | +84.395 | 4 |
| 9 | Yuki Tsunoda | AlphaTauri | 1 Lap | 2 |
| 10 | Sebastian Vettel | Aston Martin | 1 Lap | 1 |
| 11 | Antonio Giovinazzi | Alfa Romeo | 1 Lap | 0 |
| 12 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin | 1 Lap | 0 |
| 13 | Kimi Raikkonen | Alfa Romeo | 1 Lap | 0 |
| 14 | George Russell | Williams | 1 Lap | 0 |
| 15 | Nicholas Latifi | Williams | 1 Lap | 0 |
| 16 | Mick Schumacher | Haas | 2 Laps | 0 |
| 17 | Nikita Mazepin | Haas | 2 Laps | 0 |
| 18 | Fernando Alonso | Alpine | DNF | 0 |
| 19 | Esteban Ocon | Alpine | DNF | 0 |
| 20 | Pierre Gasly | AlphaTauri | DNF | 0 |
Verstappen reaction
After bringing his Red Bull home for a memorable victory at the Circuit of the Americas, Verstappen was delighted with the strategy call which saw him take his first US Grand Prix win.
“Of course we lost out in the start so we had to try and do something else,” Verstappen said. “The tyre wear is quite high around this track, we went aggressive and I was not sure it was going to work but the last few laps were fun. A bit sideways through the high-speed corners but super happy to hang on.”
