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The 2023 F1 US GP saw Max Verstappen secure his 50th career win after a hard-fought battle with Lando Norris and Lewis Hamilton.
The Dutch driver started the race in P6 and slowly made his way to the front, after reaching P3, his undercut triggered a chain reaction that led to the driver finally finding himself in a position where he was fending off Hamilton for the win.
In the end, the 2023 F1 US GP saw Verstappen win the race, keeping Hamilton behind in P2 followed by Norris in P3. The results did get thrown out of the window a little when both Hamilton and Charles Leclerc were disqualified from the race.
Having said that, in what was the first sprint weekend at Austin, what did we learn? Let's take a look.
#1 Red Bull and Max Verstappen won the 2023 F1 US GP not because of the car
At no point in the race did it appear that Max Verstappen was enjoying the pace advantage over the field that he has this season. At best, one could claim that Verstappen had maybe a couple of tenths in hand over McLaren and Mercedes and that's all.
It's hard to pinpoint why all of a sudden Red Bull lost so much pace and maybe the brakes issue might answer some of it but despite all of that, Verstappen won the race. The Dutchman won it with precise strategy, he won it by keeping calm and not losing his head when the car was having issues and he won it by just having that little bit of extra experience.
This was a race where Verstappen made the difference with his performance and he deserves a lot of praise for that.
#2 Mercedes and McLaren have a reason to be happy and sad
Mercedes arguably could have won the race with better strategy and McLaren leading the race for as long as it did was definitely a positive. There is a negative element to it as well, and that stems from the fact that both the teams still had very competitive cars and even then they went on to lose to Red Bull and Max Verstappen.
Looking back a the 2023 F1 US GP, while both Mercedes and McLaren should be happy that they closed the gap with Red Bull and challenged the Austrian team, the result remains the same.
Losing a race by two seconds or losing it by 10 minutes doesn't make a difference since the points awarded are the same. Both teams need to be more rounded in their approach and that is something they will need to work on in the future.
#3 Charles Leclerc's strategy gamble made no sense
How sensible was it from Ferrari to put their lead driver on a strategic gamble of a single-stop race in a car that was suffering from excessive tire degradation? The answer to that is it didn't make much sense. Charles Leclerc went from pole position in the race to a P6 finish that would ultimately turn into a disqualification.
How does a driver's race unravel so much after the highs of Friday where he secured pole position? That's just Ferrari in all honesty. Leclerc can do so much more in a different environment. That might just be why he's yet to sign an extension with the team beyond his current contract.
#4 The sprint weekend needs an overhaul
The 2023 F1 US GP sprint was uneventful, processional, and almost predictable after the start. In all likelihood, that's what happens when you have everyone on the same tires and starting in the position that they're supposed to.
The 2023 F1 US GP showed that the sprint weekend format needs an overhaul big time. They cannot continue with this and put together a boring race that arguably serves as nothing but a harbinger of what is to come on Sunday.
#5 Logan Sargeant put together a solid weekend
The points finish for Logan Sargeant was impressive but the 2023 F1 US GP race weekend was impressive nonetheless for the American.
He finished just a second behind his teammate Alex Albon and considering the kind of gap that tends to be there between the two drivers, this was an impressive effort.
The point will prove to be a motivational factor for the American as he tries to secure his future in F1.
