United States Grand Prix: Race Recap

Hulkenberg took the start from 11th on the grid on Pirelli P Zero Yellow medium tires – gaining one spot from qualifying due to a penalty for George Russell. The German racer then passed Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso and came into the pits on lap 27, taking on a set of White hard tires at the stop. Hulkenberg ran a strong second stint to finish in eighth place, leading the midfield battle and adding four more points to MoneyGram Haas F1 Team’s tally, marking the fifth successive race, including Saturday’s Sprint, inside the top 10.

Magnussen started the 56-lap charge from eighth place, also on medium tires and with an added grid position due to a penalty for Russell, before moving up a spot on the opening lap to hold seventh. The Dane ran a two-stop strategy, coming in on lap 17 for hard tires, then pitting again on lap 38 for a set of medium rubber. Unfortunately for Magnussen the two-stop strategy failed to pay dividends and he finished just outside of the points, in 11th overall, having been overhauled by one-stop rivals.

Scuderia Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc claimed the win, joined on the podium by teammate Carlos Sainz and Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen.

MoneyGram Haas F1 Team holds sixth position in the Constructors’ Championship on 38 points – taking a two-point advantage over RB after Sunday’s race – having initially trailed the Italian squad by three points heading into the weekend.




Nico Hulkenberg:

“I’m very pleased with that, we maximized what was possible and at the end we were actually getting closer to Perez in a Red Bull. I had a suspicion it could be a one-stop race, and it was, although halfway through the first stint it felt really poor and horrible. The tires recovered and came back to me, and going long opened the door for this race and this result. That was key, so two lots of points this weekend and two points in front of RB, it’s been a good weekend.”

Kevin Magnussen:

“We didn’t get any points today although we had a good chance of getting some. We were talking about a one-stopper, but we didn’t manage that.”

Ayao Komatsu, Team Principal:

“It was bit of a mixed result, but it was good to get P8 with Nico. He executed a very good one-stop strategy, and considering the situation he managed the tires very well and communicated well. On Kevin’s side, it was almost the opposite as our baseline was a two-stop strategy and then there was some messy communication towards the end of the race. I feel that we should’ve scored points with both cars today, although Kevin may have struggled to hang on top P10, at least he would’ve had a chance. If we had come away from here with P8 and P10, that would’ve been the best result, but unfortunately only Nico scored today. We got seven points out of the weekend, and two ahead of RB so that’s the positive. We’re now P6 in the Constructors’ Championship with five events to go, and we’re competitive, so we’ll go for more.”

Today's Data:

Event: United States Grand Prix – Sunday October 20
Location: Circuit of The Americas, Austin
Layout: 5.513-kilometer (3.426-mile), 20-turn circuit
Weather: Sunny
Air Temps: 27.6 degrees Celsius (81.6 degrees Fahrenheit)
Track Temps: 47 degrees Celsius (116.6 degrees Fahrenheit)
Race Winner: Charles Leclerc of Scuderia Ferrari