- Alex Albon rebounds from opening-lap damage to place fifth
- Verstappen moves into fourth in season driver standings
- Post-race penalty costs Daniil Kvyat championship point
Aston Martin Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen earned his seventh podium of the 2019 Formula 1 World Championship season Sunday, taking third place at the United State Grand Prix after 56 trips around the 3.4-mile Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas.
Gridding third, Verstappen climbed to second with a strong start allowing him to chase eventual race winner Valtteri Bottas for most of the day. His two-stop strategy clashed with the single-stop plan used by Lewis Hamilton, which put the 2019 World Champion ahead of the Red Bull driver over the race's final laps. Verstappen made up three full seconds to close on Hamilton with two laps to go, but a waving yellow flag in Turn 12 for Kevin Magnussen's stalled car denied him the chance to pass at the end of that straight, dooming Verstappen to third place.
Behind Verstappen, unlike Mexico City last week when Alex Albon avoided opening-lap contact, the rookie got squeezed between Sebastian Vettel and Carlos Sainz in Turn 1, resulting in damage that forced Albon to pit. The Thailand-born driver fought back impressively and climbed all the way to fifth at the finish, extending a streak that has seen him place sixth or better in each of the seven races run since he and Pierre Gasly swapped Honda-powered rides after Round 12.
The Toro Rosso drivers both threatened to collect points-paying finishes but saw their hopes dashed in the final orbits of the Texas circuit. Pierre Gasly retired with suspension damage with a lap to go while Daniil Kvyat suffered a five-second post-race time penalty for the second consecutive race, this time for contact while passing Sergio Perez for the 10th spot with a lap to go. As it did in Mexico City, the penalty dropped Kvyat to 12th place, leaving him out of the points.
Verstappen's podium result vaulted him ahead of Vettel for fourth place in the season's driver standings, while Albon – who took Driver of the Day honors – moved up two spots to sixth. Gasly fell to eighth after his DNF while Kvyat remains in 13th with two races to go. Toro Rosso's results dropped the team to seventh in the constructors championship, just a single point behind Racing Point – which was the point awarded to Perez after Kvyat's penalty.
The series will take a week to travel back across the Atlantic Ocean and then prepare for the season's penultimate race, the Brazilian Grand Prix at the Autódromo José Carlos Pace in Sao Paulo on November 17.
Toyoharu Tanabe
Technical Director, Honda F1
"Once again today, Max Verstappen delivered a strong performance to finish on the podium in third place. It's a good result, maybe a bit disappointing, as we felt he had a chance of taking second place at the end, but unfortunately, the yellow flags prevented that. He was quick all weekend. Alex Albon unfortunately dropped to last after the collision at the start, but he drove very well to fight his way up the order to finish fifth. As for Toro Rosso, Pierre was in the points for most of the race, so it was disappointing that both cars failed to score, as for a moment it looked as though Kvyat would get the last point for tenth. Finally, congratulations to Lewis Hamilton on his incredible achievement."
Max Verstappen
Aston Martin Red Bull Racing
Start: 3rd, Finish: 3rd
"For us, it's been a positive weekend and I'm very happy to finish third on a track like this. On the last few laps, the yellow flags hurt me and I couldn't pass after the straight, otherwise I think we could have finished second. After the race I realized I was missing quite a big piece of my floor which is a shame as I think we could have been even more competitive otherwise. I had a good start and then I tried to follow Valtteri (Bottas) but it seemed like they had a bit more pace than us so to finish roughly five seconds behind him is a good achievement, especially considering our car damage. I think the two stop was the right way to go and I don't think we could have done anything differently as it was the fastest strategy for us. I think we've taken a good step forward and we're back in the fight. It's still not going to be easy but we won't give up. It is of course very impressive for Lewis to win his sixth title and you have to be very consistent to achieve that so he deserves it."
Alex Albon
Aston Martin Red Bull Racing
Start: 6th, Finish: 5th
"I've enjoyed my first weekend in America and I think we did the best job we could with P5. The start was strong but I'm a bit frustrated with Turn 1. I need to watch it back but it felt like I got squeezed and obviously had nowhere to go as three into one is a bit difficult! I don't think it was anyone's fault, it was just racing, but I had to run over the curb which damaged my floor and front wing. From there we had to pit and I lost a lot of time so our race was pretty compromised, otherwise I think maybe we could have fought (Charles) Leclerc for P4. Considering we had no safety cars and had floor damage, I think we did well to make our way back through the field. "
Daniil Kvyat
Red Bull Toro Rosso Honda
Start: 13th, Finish: 12th
"It was a tricky race, we were a little bit off the pace today compared to our direct competitors. We used the tires a bit more than we usually do, so we need to analyze that. Even with those issues, I managed to finish P10 on track on the last lap. I think it was great racing like we want to see and what we have seen this season without other drivers being penalized. I'm very upset and disappointed about this penalty because I don't think this is what our sport needs."
Pierre Gasly
Red Bull Toro Rosso Honda
Start: 10th, Finish: 16th
"It was a really good race as we were running in the top 10 for most of it and keeping pace with the McLarens. In the end I started to fight with Sergio (Perez) and we made contact in Turn 13 which broke the front right suspension, so we had to retire the car. We were fighting, he went down the inside of Turn 13 then we touched with my front right tire, which bent the suspension. I don't think it was anything big, but it was enough to put me out of the points and end our race. It's disappointing to end this way after a strong weekend."
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