2023 United States Grand Prix

## Lap Leaders

The **2023 United States Grand Prix** (officially known as the **Formula 1 Lenovo United States Grand Prix 2023**) was the eighteenth race of the 2023 FIA Formula One World Championship, held at Circuit of the Americas on the weekend of October 20 to October 22, 2023.

## Background

### Championship standings before the race

Going into the weekend, Max Verstappen (having secured the title at the preceding Qatar Grand Prix) leads the World Drivers' Championship with 433 points, 209 points from his teammate Sergio Pérez, second, and 239 from Lewis Hamilton in third. Red Bull Racing, with 657 points, lead the Constructors' Championship (having secured the title at the Japanese Grand Prix) from Mercedes by 331 points and Ferrari by 359 points.

### Entrants

The drivers and teams were the same as the season entry list with the exception of the returning Daniel Ricciardo, who replaced Nyck de Vries at AlphaTauri starting at the Hungarian Grand Prix. Ricciardo's seat was filled by Liam Lawson in the previous five Grands Prix after Ricciardo was forced to withdraw due to a broken metacarpal bone in a crash during the second practice of the Dutch Grand Prix.

### Tyre choices

Tyre supplier Pirelli brought the C2, C3 and C4 tyre compounds (designated hard, medium, and soft, respectively) for teams to use at the event.

## Qualifying

### Qualifying Report

Qualifying was held on October 20, 2023, at 16:00 local time (UTC−5), and determined the starting grid for the main race.

Charles Leclerc took pole position ahead of Lando Norris and Lewis Hamilton. Championship leader Max Verstappen qualified in sixth after having a lap time fast enough for pole position deleted due to track limits. Aston Martin suffered a double Q1 knockout with Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll placing seventeenth and nineteenth, respectively.

## Sprint Shootout

### Sprint Shootout Report

The sprint shootout was held on October 21, 2023, at 12:30 local time (UTC−5), and determined the starting grid for the sprint.

## Sprint

### Sprint Report

The sprint was held on October 21, 2023, at 17:00 local time (UTC−5), and was run for 19 laps.

Max Verstappen won the race comfortably from Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc. Having suffered from them earlier in the free practice session, Lance Stroll retired with brake issues.

## Race

### Race Report

The race was held on October 22, 2023, at 14:00 local time (UTC−5), and was run for 56 laps.

Max Verstappen, despite brake issues, won the race, his fifteenth victory in the season. Verstappen held off Lewis Hamilton and Lando Norris, who had both led during the race and ultimately finished second and third respectively. Both drivers showed pace, getting closer to Verstappen during the closing stages. Yuki Tsunoda achieved the fastest lap. There were three retirements. Oscar Piastri retired with damage to his radiator and a water leak after making contact with Esteban Ocon's sidepods, which also caused Ocon to retire. Fernando Alonso, who had to start from the pit lane, suffered from failures of the rear suspension and the floor. Hamilton and polesitter Charles Leclerc, who finished second and sixth respectively, were both disqualified after failing a post-race plank test. This disqualification means that Leclerc became the first driver to start on pole position and get disqualified since Ralf Schumacher at the 2004 Canadian Grand Prix. This promoted Norris to second place, Sainz to third, and gave Logan Sargeant his first Formula One point. This marked the first time an American had scored in Formula One since Michael Andretti at the 1993 Italian Grand Prix.

## Notes

1. ↑ Kevin Magnussen qualified 14th, but he was required to start the race from the pit lane as elements of different specifications from the ones originally used were installed on his car during parc fermé conditions.
2. ↑ Nico Hülkenberg qualified 16th, but he was required to start the race from the pit lane as elements of different specifications from the ones originally used were installed on his car during parc fermé conditions.
3. ↑ Fernando Alonso qualified 17th, but he was required to start the race from the pit lane as elements of different specifications from the ones originally used were installed on his car during parc fermé conditions.
4. ↑ Lance Stroll qualified 19th, but he was required to start the race from the pit lane as elements of different specifications from the ones originally used were installed on his car during parc fermé conditions.
5. ↑ George Russell received a three-place grid penalty for impeding Charles Leclerc in SQ1.
6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Kevin Magnussen and Valtteri Bottas set identical lap times in SQ1. Magnussen was qualified ahead of Bottas as he set his time earlier.
7. ↑ George Russell finished seventh, but he received a five-second time penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage.
8. ↑ Zhou Guanyu finished 16th, but he received a five-second time penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage.
9. ↑ Includes one point for fastest lap.
10. ↑ Alexander Albon received a five-second time penalty for exceeding track limits. His final position was not affected by the penalty.
11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc finished second and sixth, respectively, but were disqualified for having excessive wear on their rear skid blocks.
12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 Already have won the 2023 World Championship.