Verstappen denies Hamilton first win of 2022 with US GP fightback
The newly-crowned world champion was leading from Hamilton until an 11-second pit stop dropped him to third, but Verstappen charged back past Charles Leclerc and retook the lead from Hamilton in the closing laps.
It marked Verstappen’s 13th victory of the season to equal Michael Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel’s record for most wins in a season and also confirmed Red Bull’s first constructors’ championship since 2013.
Verstappen dedicated his 33rd career win to the late Red Bull co-founder Dietrich Mateschitz, who passed away aged 78 on Saturday.
Hamilton had to settle with runner-up spot after coming within touching distance of ending his winless streak.
The seven-time world champion was handed his first shot of victory this season after the wheel gun issue in the pits for Verstappen, but on harder tyres and with a straightline speed deficit, Hamilton was ultimately a sitting duck when Verstappen dived past on Lap 51.
The 2021 F1 title rivals went wheel-to-wheel for several corners in a pulsating battle, but despite a valiant effort, Hamilton could not cling on to prevent Verstappen’s latest win.
“I gave it everything guys, absolutely everything,” Hamilton told his Mercedes team over the radio at the chequered flag.
It was an emotionally-charged win for Verstappen and Red Bull, who without the pit stop problem would have likely claimed a straightforward win.
Ferrari’s Leclerc completed the podium with a strong recovery drive from 12th on the grid following a 10-place penalty for changing power unit components.
Sergio Perez took fourth in the second Red Bull despite losing part of his front wing endplate, ahead of Mercedes’ George Russell, who was hit with a five-second time penalty for spinning polesitter Carlos Sainz out at the start.
Sixth place went to McLaren’s Lando Norris, while Fernando Alonso incredibly finished seventh in a race that saw his Alpine briefly sent airborne after a scary high-speed tangle with future Aston Martin teammate Lance Stroll.
Sebastian Vettel pulled off a superb last-lap overtake on Kevin Magnussen’s Haas to claim eighth in his Aston Martin, with Yuki Tsunoda completing the top-10 for AlphaTauri.
