The fight for the Constructor’s Cup begins – USGP Saturday Recap
AUSTIN, Texas (October 22nd, 2022) – Today marks day two of the largest sporting event in the world: the Formula 1 Aramco United States Grand Prix held at Circuit of The Americas. The day was filled with many races including: the first race of Masters Endurance Legends and Masters Historic, and the F1 qualifying session – all were on their A-game.
In the morning, Jamie Constable took first place in both the Master Endurance Legends and Historic races in two different cars: his Pescarolo 01-Judd and Tyrrell 011B, respectively. The Masters Endurance Legends race features Prototype and GT Endurance cars from 1982 all the way to 2017 for a wide range of models and fun racing for casual viewers and car enthusiasts alike. The Masters Historic, also known as the Master Racing Legends USA, race 3-liter Formula One cars from 1966 to 1985. Both support races feature a qualifying session and two races with the second race coming Sunday. The conclusion of Masters Endurance Legends and Masters Historic begin at 9:15am and 10:55am, respectively.
With the track still hot between Masters, FP3, and Qualifying, fans watched Pirelli Hot Laps, the McLaren Andretti Demo, and the Aston Martin Safety Car Experience. The Pirelli Hot Laps were the envy of all as F1 drivers took invited guests around the track in a performance-oriented road vehicle at extremely high speeds. Mario Andretti, legendary American racer and 12-time Formula One winner, sped around the track in a 2013 McLaren for a demo run, his second time racing in a modern F1 vehicle. The Aston Martin Safety Car Experience showcased the Aston Martin V8 Vantage, supped up with F1 advancements, streaking around the track to demonstrate why it’s the best car for the job.
FP3 was full of excitement as Mick Schumacher (Haas) went into run off less than 10 minutes into the session with an ERS water pump issue. He resumed with 20 minutes left in the session. Charles LeClerc (Ferrari) also spent time in the pits – long enough for him to take his helmet off – before getting back on the track. With the weather particularly windy, fans saw some handling challenges for several teams, including George Russell (Mercedes) who caught a drift around turn 1. The standings for FP3 finished as follows: Verstappen (Red Bull), LeClerc (Ferrari), Sainz (Ferrari), Perez (Red Bull), Hamilton (Mercedes), Alonso (Alpine), Russell (Mercedes), Vettel (Aston Martin), Stroll (Aston Martin), and Gasly (AlphaTauri).
When the evening came, so did qualifying. Ferrari led all through the session with Q1 positions as follows: Sainz (Ferrari), LeClerc (Ferrari), Verstappen (Red Bull), Hamilton (Mercedes), Perez (Red Bull), and Russell (Mercedes). The field is ripe for fights as the Constructor’s Cup is in contention! Eliminated going into Q2 were Ricciardo (McLaren), Magnussen (Haas), Ocon (Alpine), Schumacher (Haas), and Latifi (Williams). Mick Schumacher went out with style, spinning completely exiting turn 1. Q2 notably eliminated Vettel (Aston Martin) when his top time was deleted, knocking him out of Q3.
Qualifying ended with the top 10 as follows: LeClerc (Ferrari), Sainz (Ferrari), Verstappen (Red Bull), Perez (Red Bull), Hamilton (Mercedes), Russell (Mercedes), Stroll (Aston Martin), Alonso (Alpine), Norris (McLaren), and Bottas (Alfa Romeo).
Worthy of note before qualifying was Fernando Alonso (Alpine) replacing his Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) requiring him to take a 5-place penalty in tomorrow’s starting grid. Charles LeClerc (Ferrari) replaced both his ICE and his Turbocharger meaning he will drop 10 spots on the grid. Alonso will start 14th and LeClerc will start 12th with these penalties. Sergio Perez and Guanyu Zhou also incurred 5-place penalties, meaning “Checo” starts 9th and Zhou 19th.
The starting grid for tomorrow in order includes:
Carlos Sainz Jr. (Ferrari)
Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
George Russell (Mercedes)
Lance Stroll (Aston Martin)
Lando Norris (McLaren)
Valtteri Bottas (Alfa Romeo)
Alex Albon (Williams)
Sergio Perez (Red Bull)
Sebastian Vettel (Aston Martin)
Pierre Gasly (AlphaTauri)
Charles LeClerc (Ferrari)
Yuki Tsunoda (AlphaTauri)
Fernando Alonso (Alpine)
Kevin Magnussen (Haas)
Daniel Ricciardo (McLaren)
Esteban Ocon (Alpine)
Mick Schumacher (Haas)
Zhou Guanyu (Alfa Romeo)
Nicholas Latifi (Williams)
As the sun sets on Saturday, fans are becoming more and more eager for the Sunday race. To keep the entertainment going, GRAMMY© award winning singer Ed Sheeran, will perform his hits at the Germania Insurance Super Stage. Stay tuned and keep up with COTA and F1 socials for live updates and posts about the weekend!
