Verstappen. / Picture: REUTERS
In the title duel of Formula 1 between Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton, the waves went up on the first day of training for the US Grand Prix in Austin. The World Cup leader from the Netherlands scolded the seven-time champion as a “stupid idiot” and gave the Briton after a wheel-to-wheel duel across the entire start and finish straight. Hamilton's Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas set the fastest time of the day.
After the clearly better times in the first practice session – Hamilton came close to Bottas (1: 34.874) to within 0.045 seconds – the Silver Arrows in the second session in the afternoon were no longer so superior and had to set the best time to Sergio Perez (1: 34.946) in Red Bull handed over. His team-mate Verstappen, however, did not make the very fast lap he had hoped for and was audibly annoyed because of that. “I've had enough,” radioed the world championship leader after he was again prevented from driving freely by other cars. He came into the pits with only the eighth best time and switched to test mode for the long distance.
With five wins from the previous eight races, Hamilton is the favorite on Sunday. But Verstappen has also had very good results in the past on the circuit that is popular with drivers. “It's a good track, a circuit where you can enjoy driving. You can definitely overtake here, that's what makes it special,” he said on Thursday.
Positive for Red Bull: Bottas, like Sebastian Vettel in the Aston Martin and George Russell in the Williams, got a new engine and will be punished for it on the grid on Sunday. He has to move five places back. “We are suffering a bit in terms of reliability this year, this is the sixth engine for Valterri,” said Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff. The Finn is therefore only moved back five places. Vettel and Russell each get their fourth drive unit. Because they changed other parts, both of them have to start the race from the back of the field.
