F1 2022: What do the Driver Standings look like after the US GP?

Max Verstappen went on to secure yet another win at the 2022 F1 US GP, securing Red Bull their first constructors' title since 2013. While the Dutchman was already crowned the 2022 F1 world champion last race weekend at the Japanese Grand Prix, battles across the grid have only gotten more exciting.

With yet another podium finish for Charles Leclerc, the Ferrari driver is back in second in the drivers' standings ahead of Sergio Perez, with two points separating the two. The battle is likely to go on up until the very end of the season, becoming an exciting fight to watch out for all the way into the 2022 F1 Abu Dhabi GP. The Mexican just missed out on the podium and finished the US GP in P4 behind Leclerc's Ferrari.

Carlos Sainz secured the third pole position of his career at the US GP this weekend. Everything, however, went crashing down for the Spaniard when George Russell made contact with his Ferrari on the opening lap of the race.

Despite the Briton receiving a five-second penalty for essentially knocking Sainz out of the GP, Russell managed to finish in P5, increasing his points gap to the Ferrari driver to 16 points in the drivers' standings. With Lewis Hamilton finishing second in Austin, the seven-time world champion now holds a mere four-point deficit to Sainz and is quickly catching up to secure fifth place in the championship.

The battle between the two Alpines is also getting more intense now that Esteban Ocon only enjoys a seven-point advantage over his teammate Fernando Alonso. Similarly, 10 points now separate Valtteri Bottas and Sebastian Vettel in the standings.

The German stood a chance to score some strong points in Austin this weekend after having led the race for several laps, only to lose all hope to a devastatingly long pit stop by Aston Martin. The four-time world champion was forced to settle for P8 after some exciting battles and overtakes up to the very last few seconds of the race, while Bottas was one of the three drivers who were forced to retire from the Grand Prix.

Kevin Magnussen and Pierre Gasly are in a close battle for 13th in the championship, with one point separating the two, while Lance Stroll, Mick Schumacher, and Yuki Tsunoda are all in a close battle for 15th.

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Here are the 2022 F1 Driver Standings after the US GP

Pos	Driver	Nationality	Car	PTS
1	Max Verstappen	NED	Red Bull Racing RBPT	391
2	Charles Leclerc	MON	Ferrari	267
3	Sergio Perez	MEX	Red Bull Racing RBPT	265
4	George Russell	GBR	Mercedes	218
5	Carlos Sainz	ESP	Ferrari	202
6	Lewis Hamilton	GBR	Mercedes	198
7	Lando Norris	GBR	McLaren Mercedes	109
8	Esteban Ocon	FRA	Alpine Renault	78
9	Fernando Alonso	ESP	Alpine Renault	71
10	Valtteri Bottas	FIN	Alfa Romeo Ferrari	46
11	Sebastian Vettel	GER	Aston Martin Aramco Mercedes	36
12	Daniel Ricciardo	AUS	McLaren Mercedes	29
13	Kevin Magnussen	DEN	Haas Ferrari	24
14	Pierre Gasly	FRA	AlphaTauri RBPT	23
15	Lance Stroll	CAN	Aston Martin Aramco Mercedes	13
16	Mick Schumacher	GER	Haas Ferrari	12
17	Yuki Tsunoda	JPN	AlphaTauri RBPT	12
18	Zhou Guanyu	CHN	Alfa Romeo Ferrari	6
19	Alexander Albon	THA	Williams Mercedes	4
20	Nicholas Latifi	CAN	Williams Mercedes	2
21	Nyck De Vries	NED	Williams Mercedes	2
22	Nico Hulkenberg	GER	Aston Martin Aramco Mercedes	0