Max Verstappen achieved the thirteenth victory of the year after a great comeback in Austin, which gave him the manufacturers’ title for Red Bull
The FIA has lost its way and its sanctions are so diverse and cause such chaos. Alonso’s punishment is the example
Austin hosted the second race of the year in the United States and gave us a challenge with constant alternatives, winning Max Verstappen after an extraordinary comeback and after overtaking Leclerc and Hamilton on the track. A jug of cold water as soon as it started when a runaway Russell took Carlos Sainz ahead and also to close, since the FIA already sanctioned Fernando Alonso at dawn for having lost his rear-view mirror.
THE MISFORTUNE OF CARLOS SAINZ
I don’t want to talk about bad luck – any kid his age would change with him – but I do want to talk about misfortune, adversity or misfortune. Carlos Sainz’s sixth retirement of the season came as soon as the race began, in the first corner, when a runaway Russell took him ahead in his eagerness to win after 300 meters, ignoring that there were 300 kilometers to go. The one in Austin was the second consecutive race in which the man from Madrid was left out on the first lap. In Japan an error took its toll on a track in terrible conditions due to the accumulated rain on the asphalt and in the United States, where he started from pole for the third time this year, being overtaken by Verstappen made him Russell’s target. His great season is not reflected in results and points due to adverse events that should not affect his confidence.
VERSTAPPEN AND THE BEST TRIBUTE TO DIETRICH MATESCHITZ
I did not like – it was not acceptable – the arrogance with which Max Verstappen scolded his team after a bad pitstop, probably the first of a season in which he is shining more than ever. He is an extraordinary pilot (and he believes it) and this confidence makes him do incredible things on the track, destined only for the chosen ones. But the Dutchman should never forget that together they win and together they lose and that many of his victories are preceded by the Red Bull staff, who have made him a wonderful car and who manage the races like no one else. It must be recognized, on the sidelines, that Max’s comeback in Austin was to frame, overtaking Leclerc and Hamilton on the track and adding the thirteenth victory of the year when it had been very uphill. Without a doubt, the best tribute to Dietrich Mateschitz, the owner of Red Bull who passed away after a long illness at the age of 78.
THE FIA HAS LOST ITS MIRROR
The FIA has lost its way and its sanctions are so diverse and cause such chaos that one no longer knows what to think. While they try to agree with Red Bull the fine for having skipped the budget ceiling, one driver (Pérez) is reprimanded for breaking the safety car rule and another (Gasly) is sanctioned with 5 seconds in a difference week. Others can lose pieces on the track (Pérez) without even a safety warning and Fernando Alonso, with nocturnality and treachery, ruins the weekend for doing the last part of the race without the right rear-view mirror, which he jumped after the brutal clash with Stroll caused by an erratic movement of the Canadian. Hamilton won at Suzuka in 2019 without the right mirror. In short, the one who has lost the mirror is the FIA and not Alonso’s Alpine.
PALOU AND THE AMERICAN DREAM
My dear and longed-for Adrián Campos would feel fully proud today of the career of Alex Palou, a kid who blindly supported and trusted and who not only became IndyCar champion in 2021 but also just signed a test contract with McLaren and made his debut at the controls of a Formula One in the first free practice in Austin. Palou, 25, a native of Sant Antoni de Vilamajor, could not start off on a better footing, since in his first contact with the elite he has already left signs that he could perfectly have a place there. We’ll see what the future holds. Wood has. Alex is the true reflection of the American dream. After having to pack his bags first to Japan and then to the United States, his character, confidence, motivation, work and talent have allowed him to open doors that seemed completely closed for a pilot who did not carry a checkbook under his arm.