U.S. GP takeaways: 3-team constructor battle, McLaren's odd decision

We offer our takeaways following each race weekend this year and continue the 2024 schedule with the United States GP.

Moments that decided the race 👀

Ferrari gives us 3-way fight for constructors

We suddenly have a three-team race for the constructors' championship.

Ferrari's incredible 1-2 in Austin - its first in the United States in 18 years - helped pull it within eight points of Red Bull and 48 points of McLaren.

Charles Leclerc benefited from Max Verstappen's aggressive move on Lando Norris on Turn 1 on the opening lap and shot through the hole created by the dueling duo. Leclerc didn't look back from there, taking the checkered flag by 8.5 seconds over teammate Carlos Sainz and 19 seconds ahead of Verstappen, who hasn't won in nine races. Amazingly, that's the closest Verstappen's finished to first place since the summer break.

"It's a big day for the team and a big day for Ferrari in general," Leclerc said. "We demonstrated we were the fastest team on the track with race pace quite conformably."

Ferrari looked incredible in Austin, nailing a relatively drama-free Sunday to secure its second race win in four events and first since Italy. The victory was also Leclerc's third of the season and the Scuderia's fourth in 2024.

While most of the focus has been on McLaren tracking down and surpassing Red Bull, Ferrari's been chipping away at the deficit in the shadows. A lot of that has to do with Leclerc's brilliance in the second half.

Leclerc has five podiums in his last six races, sits third in the drivers' standings, and is 22 points behind Norris. Sainz hasn't generated the same type of success but has picked up points in nine of his last 10 races, which has helped Ferrari cut into the deficit.

"A result that puts us exactly where we want in the constructors," Sainz said.

Despite acknowledging that it's an "optimistic" target, Leclerc said postrace that Ferrari's goal this season is winning the constructors' title - something that's alluded the team since 2008.

Given Ferrari's recent pace and reliability - it even managed to correct an early issue with Sainz's car Sunday - the team is well positioned heading into the final five races and two sprints left on the calendar.

With Sergio Perez struggling, Ferrari could leapfrog Red Bull by next weekend. Chasing down McLaren will be more difficult. Ferrari got within 31 points of the British manufacturer after the Italian GP but found itself 75 points back following Singapore. Now, it trails by 48 points going into Mexico.

"That's the target," Leclerc said of being the top team. "I just really hope that we can do that for the rest of the season, and hopefully, we can win the constructors."

Did McLaren botch decision with Norris?

Norris needs every point possible over Verstappen if he wishes to win his first drivers' championship, and Austin proved to be a wasted opportunity.

Despite securing pole position, Norris again got off to a poor start and was sitting fourth heading into Turn 2.

Norris spent the bulk of the race trying to make up lost ground but finally looked like he'd be able to get by Verstappen after several laps of pursuit.

As the two drove into the corner, Norris appeared to get the nose of his car ahead at the apex. But as the two began maneuvering around the turn, Verstappen forced Norris wide, and both cars went off the track. Norris proceeded to pass Verstappen off track, and McLaren decided not to give the position back.

That decision wound up burning McLaren, as the stewards handed Norris a five-second penalty after the race. Norris managed to build only a four-second lead over Verstappen, which resulted in the two swapping places after the checkered flag, costing Norris a spot on the podium and valuable points.

It was a puzzling decision from McLaren. The team said postrace that it was confident Norris was ahead going into the corner, but it wasn't so clear when rewatching. The risk of not immediately handing the place was a weird gamble to justify for McLaren. Had Norris given the position back right away, there would have been more than enough laps left for Norris to try to overtake Verstappen again without issue, especially with the pace advantage he displayed.

The stewards determined Norris didn't have an advantage at the apex and was deemed to have gained a "lasting advantage" by leaving the track and overtaking Verstappen.

However, Norris didn't blame the strategy after the race.

"It's obviously not an easy decision; otherwise, it would have come a bit sooner," Norris said. "I tried. He also went off the track. If he goes off the track, (he) clearly went in too hard and gained an advantage for doing what he does. But I don't make the rules."

McLaren team principal Andrea Stella was emphatic that Norris acted appropriately and that the rules weren't applied correctly. He said the team didn't consider asking Norris to give the place back after reviewing their own video.

"My view is that the way the stewards interfered with a beautiful piece of motorsport was inappropriate," Stella said. "Both cars went off track, gained an advantage. It's a shame because it cost us a podium, it costs us a race in which we stayed patient after we were pushed off on the first lap."

Red Bull evidently felt postrace that it benefited from McLaren's decision not to give the place back. Verstappen said the podium finish was a "great result" for the team and agreed with the stewards that Norris broke the rules by passing off the track.

"No, I don't (sympathize with McLaren)," Verstappen said. "They complain about a lot lately. It's very clear in the rules: outside the white line, you cannot pass."

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner admitted that Norris likely would've caught Verstappen again with his fresher tires. He also said he would've immediately given the place back to allow his driver to attack again if it were up to him.

"I think with the hindsight of what we've seen how these things played out, I think I would have (swapped positions) cause you can see the pace advantage that Lando had," Horner said.

After Sunday, Norris has one less race to chase down Verstappen, who now owns a 57-point lead.

They said what? 🗣️

Norris on McLaren's pace and poor start: "We were slower than Ferrari and Red Bull. ... Even if I came around Turn 1 in first, I feel like I still would have finished third."

Horner on Perez costing points in constructors' standings: "For Checo, we really need to have the delta between the two drivers closer. You can see two Ferraris, two McLarens, they're hunting in pairs."

Verstappen on Red Bull heading into final races: "It's not the dominant years anymore. This weekend, I think we've shown some flashes of coming back to the front - still not enough - but we keep working, keep improving, keep learning."

Liam Lawson on finishing 9th, auditioning for future Red Bull seat: "I want to stay in Formula 1 and have a full-time seat next year. These races are my key to doing that."

What's next?

The F1 action will be rapid over the next few weeks as we're in the middle of a tripleheader. Teams will quickly pack up in Austin and travel south to Mexico City for the Mexican Grand Prix.

Verstappen has won three straight races at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez and five of the last six. Lewis Hamilton is the only other driver on the grid to win (2016, 2019) at the circuit in the previous seven races.