United States Grand Prix: Race Recap

Both drivers started on Pirelli P Zero White hard tires, Magnussen 13th and Schumacher 16th respectively, though both had to bide their time on a frantic opening lap.

Schumacher and Magnussen came into the pits on lap 18, taking on Yellow medium tires under a Safety Car period caused when Valtteri Bottas spun at turn 19. 

Magnussen then successfully climbed into the top 10 as he stayed out on a one-stop strategy, preserving his mediums through to the checkered flag – the Dane courageously battling Sebastian Vettel for eighth on the final lap only to lose out to the four-time World Champion exiting the final turn and the charge to the line.

Schumacher came in for a second stop on lap 34, taking on hard tires, but the German had picked up damage dicing his way through the aftermath and debris of the earlier Stroll-Alonso crash. His prospects were also then adversely affected by being forced wide by Nicholas Latifi, for which the Williams driver was penalized. Schumacher brought his ailing VF-22 home 15th at the flag.

Up front Max Verstappen claimed victory for Red Bull Racing, ahead of Mercedes AMG driver Lewis Hamilton and Scuderia Ferrari racer Charles Leclerc. 

Haas F1 Team holds eighth place in the Constructors’ Championship with 36 points.

Kevin Magnussen, Driver No. 20, Haas F1 Team

“I’m super happy. For us as a team, it’s very important to get these points at our home race in the US – and it’s very big on the weekend that we announce a great title sponsor with MoneyGram – it couldn’t come at a better time. Of course, I’m gutted to lose a position to Sebastian. I have to say it was some driving from him, that’s when you realize why he’s a four-time World Champion. The strategy that we pulled off was purely by guidance with the team. As such a small team to put on a fight like this, it’s great.”

 

Mick Schumacher, Driver No. 47, Haas F1 Team 

“I think we were on for good points today for sure, but it seems like we picked up a big piece which damaged the car quite a lot and then we couldn’t extract the maximum out of it anymore because of that damage. We got it in the second stint and the car didn’t feel the same anymore, and I couldn’t keep the pace of before which was very promising. It’s a shame as it feels like bad luck follows us.”

 

Guenther Steiner, Team Principal, Haas F1 Team

“After two difficult days, a good result. The whole team did a fantastic job, you cannot ask for more as the car was fast and Kevin was sure he could get to the end with his tires. I wouldn’t say we took a gamble, we took a chance, but we had a back-up strategy to go onto the soft tires and we brought home some points. I’m not really happy about what happened out there with the other cars that are losing bits and pieces and don’t get called in like we normally do, so we will follow-up on that one. Mick had very good pace on his first stint, doing a fantastic job and then when the accident happened he must’ve picked up some debris and lost some downforce. We haven’t seen the car yet but I guess the diffuser has got some damage and he just couldn’t do the same times with the new set of tires. Having MoneyGram as our sponsor for the first event, our home race, we are very happy to give them that result - it’s a team effort.”

 

Today's Data

Event: United States Grand Prix – Sunday October 23
Location: Circuit of the Americas, Austin
Layout: 5.513-kilometer (3.426-mile), 20-turn circuit
Weather: Mostly Sunny
Air Temps: 28.5 degrees Celsius (83.3 degrees Fahrenheit)
Track Temps: 33 degrees Celsius (91.4 degrees Fahrenheit)
Race Winner: Max Verstappen of Red Bull Racing
Team Result: Kevin Magnussen – Started 13th / Finished 9th (2pts) (Running – completed 56/56 laps)
Mick Schumacher – Started 18th / Finished 15th (Running – completed 56/56 laps)