With six wins under his belt around the Circuit of the Americas Lewis Hamilton has earned the nickname, King of CoTA. For six years it’s been a Mercedes stronghold but in 2021 a superb drive from Max Verstappen gained the Dutchman a famous victory.

The Texas based race is renowned for its pomp and circumstance and it seemed even more lavish this year. The US Grand Prix returned to the F1 calendar for the first time since 2019 and it made hay while the sun shone. An estimated total of 400,000 fans packed into the grandstands throughout the weekend and were treated to an enthralling and intense battle between the top two in the title fight.

Verstappen’s Saturday pole position was short lived as Hamilton, starting second, swept into the lead of the race as the lights went out. But the Merc didn’t scamper off into the distance. Verstappen, with teammate Sergio Perez in third, was able to stick behind the Merc for all of the opening stint of the race.

High temperatures and an abrasive track surface combined to make tyre degradation the most important factor of the day. It would mean that calling the right strategy could be the difference between winning or losing. Rather than be reactive to Mercedes, Red Bull boldly called in Verstappen on lap 11. The team triggered the undercut and it gained Verstappen track position as Hamilton emerged from his stop, three laps later, around six seconds adrift.

By every indication Hamilton appeared to have the quicker car and was closing down Verstappen fairly quickly. But again, Red Bull pulled the trigger early on the second round of pitstops and called Verstappen in on lap 29. Hamilton extended his stint even further this time around and only dove into the pitlane on lap 37. He emerged in second, roughly eight seconds behind the race leader. With tyres eight laps younger than Verstappen’s the writing seemed to be on the wall. This was further compounded by Verstappen’s loss of around four seconds as he tried to lap several back-markers. With ten laps to go and a three-second gap to Verstappen it seemed inevitable that Hamilton would re-take the lead of the race.

AUSTIN, TEXAS – OCTOBER 24: Race winner Max Verstappen of Netherlands and Red Bull Racing, second placed Lewis Hamilton of Great Britain and Mercedes GP, third placed Sergio Perez of Mexico and Red Bull Racing and Masashi Yamamoto of Honda celebrate on the podium during the F1 Grand Prix of USA at Circuit of The Americas on October 24, 2021 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)

But Verstappen was not about to surrender without a fight. Despite Hamilton’s fresher tyres and the Mercedes’s top-speed advantage, Verstappen held off the 7-time champion. Of his now 18 career wins this one in Texas will rank high up on the list. Not only did Verstappen execute a bold and aggressive strategy by Red Bull but held off a much quicker Lewis Hamilton in stellar execution of tyre management and shrewd driving.

Sergio Perez completed a double podium for Red Bull in third but found himself significantly behind the top two. A problem with his drinks bottle meant the Mexican had no liquid refreshment throughout a very hot race. Perez confirmed that he was starting to lose some strength, and likely concentration, in the middle of his second stint. He was visibly depleted post-race which makes his third-place finish all the more impressive.

In a fairly lonely but no less impressive drive Charles Leclerc finished fourth for Ferrari ahead of McLaren’s Daniel Ricciardo in fifth. Valtteri Bottas, suffered yet another engine change and grid penalty from which he never truly recovered. The Finn started ninth and was sixth by the chequered flag. Former teammates Carlos Sainz and Lando Norris were seventh and eighth while Yuki Tsunoda, ninth, and Seb Vettel, tenth, scored the final points on offer.

It was a tumultuous day for Fernando Alonso who came off second best to Kimi Raikkonen in a spicey exchange into turn 1 that saw both loss some bodywork. For all his troubles the day would eventually end in retirement for the Spanish driver. Esteban Ocon too retired from the race along with Pierre Gasly. Raikkonen was running well in tenth and putting pressure on Tsunoda for ninth when a spin scuppered his chances of a points finish.  

The win in Texas is unlikely to be the decisive moment of the championship fight between Verstappen and Hamilton. But what is unequivocally true is that Hamilton has never been pushed as much as he has in 2021. Verstappen’s win sees his points lead extend to 12 points over Hamilton with five races to go. Max Verstappen’s drive to win the US Gp should live long in the memory banks as his most mature yet. What’s more, there is no inkling that he’s about to let up either.