Carlos Sainz surprised everyone by securing pole position during the 2022 F1 US GP qualifying. The Spaniard secured his third career pole position and this places him perfectly in a position to fight for the win against Max Verstappen.
The duo will have the Mercedes drivers behind them in the second row as they aim to take advantage in case things unravel in front of them. So how will the race unfold? Who’s going to win and who will have a strong one? Find out in our predictions for the 2022 F1 US GP.
#1 Max Verstappen wants to win 2022 F1 US GP
Max Verstappen wants to be in a direct battle with Carlos Sainz for the win. The Red Bull driver is going against the Ferrari driver in conditions where the two cars appear to match each other throughout the lap. Not only that, with tire degradation not proving to be too big a factor, the two cars are evenly matched here.
With that in mind, however, there are three factors why we feel Verstappen could take the 2022 F1 US GP win. The first of them is the straight-line speed of the Red Bull. The primary overtaking spots could be the straights at COTA and Red Bull’s straight-line speed advantage during the 2022 F1 US GP could work in his favor. The second is Red Bull’s strategic department, which tends to work perfectly compared to Ferrari. The third is the driver! In a straight head-to-head battle, Verstappen will hold the edge over Sainz and will snatch the 2022 F1 US GP win on Sunday.
#2 A podium for Charles Leclerc
It might appear to be a long shot but Ferrari’s pace during the 2022 F1 US GP weekend has been stunning. Be it the short or the long runs, the car has worked perfectly in all settings. Charles Leclerc’s 10-place grid penalty surely puts him on the backfoot, but COTA is not a track that is averse to pulling off overtakes.
Expect the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc to progress across the field and challenge for the podium in the latter stages of the race. It is surely a long shot but an alternate strategy where Leclerc starts the race on hard tires could essentially work in his favor.
#3 The race will feature a lot of action
There were initially fears heading into the weekend that the 2022 F1 US GP might be a bit lukewarm, to say the least. With a number of drivers starting at unusual positions, however, it seems the race could be a lot of fun. The Red Bulls and the Ferraris are not too far away from each other in terms of pace. Mercedes could be the dark horse as well with both its drivers starting the race in the second row.
COTA has been home to many interesting races since its debut in 2012. This season, we might be looking at another interesting 90 minutes of racing.
#4 Aston Martin wants to score a double points finish
Lance Stroll was threatening a strong result throughout the 2022 F1 US GP weekend and it finally materialized with a P7 in the qualifying session. The Aston Martin driver was the best of the midfield in an impressive showing that put him firmly in a position for a strong result in the race. Sebastian Vettel’s P12 qualifying position will see an improvement as well, with the drivers in front of him picking up grid penalties.
Aston Martin is known to have a strong race pace and a higher starting position should aid the team in scoring another double-points finish.
#5 A disappointing weekend is in store for the American team
Haas showed impressive pace in all of the practice sessions but when it came to the 2022 F1 US GP qualifying, the struggle was evident. Mick Schumacher messed up his final lap, ruining his outside chances for a Q2 slot. Having said that, on a weekend where the team secured an impressive title sponsorship in what is the team’s home race, a better performance was expected.
“I didn’t drive much in FP3, so we’ll look at the data from Kevin to be able to learn and put the car together which hopefully gives us the potential to go forwards and fight for points.”
#HaasF1 #USGP
“I didn’t drive much in FP3, so we’ll look at the data from Kevin to be able to learn and put the car together which hopefully gives us the potential to go forwards and fight for points.”#HaasF1 #USGP https://t.co/liLv3mU4Ei
Starting in grid slots P15 and P18 with a car that tends to suffer from an excess drag on the straights, the drivers will struggle to make their way through the field. Haas has not scored a point since the double-point finish in the 2022 F1 Austrian GP. By the looks of it, things are not going to change at the 2022 F1 US GP either.
What’s your favorite race of the 2022 season so far? Tell us in the comments below..
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