The 2024 United States Grand Prix (officially known as the Formula 1 Pirelli United States Grand Prix 2024) was a Formula One motor race held on October 20, 2024, at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, United States. It was the nineteenth round of the 2024 Formula One World Championship and the fourth Grand Prix weekend of the season to utilise the sprint format.
Max Verstappen of Red Bull Racing took pole position for the sprint event, which he proceeded to win ahead of Carlos Sainz Jr. of Ferrari and Lando Norris of McLaren. Norris took pole position for the main race, but lost out to Charles Leclerc of Ferrari ahead of his teammate Sainz, marking a Ferrari 1–2 finish, their first in the United States since 2006, Ferrari's first win in the United States since 2018 with Kimi Räikkönen, and Leclerc's most recent win until the 2026 British Grand Prix.
After an intense late-race battle between him and Verstappen, Norris finished third on track, but was demoted to fourth after a late penalty. Verstappen finished third. Esteban Ocon of Alpine achieved his first career fastest lap in this race, but did not receive the point as he was positioned in eighteenth. Verstappen remained in the lead of the Drivers' Championship, extending his advantage to 57 points over Norris, who remained in second with 297 points, while Leclerc was a further 22 points behind. McLaren maintained their lead in the Constructors' Championship as well by 40 points over Red Bull, with Ferrari only a further eight points behind Red Bull in third following their first 1–2 finish since the Australian Grand Prix earlier in the season.
Background The event was held at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, for the twelfth time in the circuit's history, across the weekend of October 18–20. The Grand Prix was the nineteenth round of the 2024 Formula One World Championship and the 45th running of the United States Grand Prix as a round of the Formula One World Championship.
Championship standings before the race Going into the weekend, Max Verstappen led the Drivers' Championship with 331 points, 52 points ahead of Lando Norris in second, and 86 ahead of Charles Leclerc in third. McLaren, holding 516 points, entered this round as the leader of the Constructors' Championship ahead of Red Bull Racing and Ferrari, who were second and third with 475 and 441 points, respectively.
Entrants
The drivers and teams were the same as the season entry list with two exceptions: Franco Colapinto, who replaced Logan Sargeant at Williams from the Italian Grand Prix onwards; Liam Lawson replaced Daniel Ricciardo at RB, as Riccardo was dropped from the team following the Singapore Grand Prix.
Tyre choices
Sole tyre supplier Pirelli brought the C2, C3, and C4 tyre compounds (the middle three in their range), designated hard, medium, and soft, respectively, for teams to use at the event.
Special liveries and car upgrades During the race weekend, three teams equipped their cars with special liveries. The McLaren MCL38 featured a chrome livery, which was also used a year prior at the 2023 British Grand Prix. The livery is a reference to Google Chrome, one of the McLaren's main sponsors. The Haas VF-24 used a livery inspired by the American flag, including stars, stripes, and an eagle. The Alpine A524 switched to an orange livery to promote the Xbox video game Indiana Jones and the Great Circle.
Eight out of the ten teams brought upgrade packages for their cars for the race. The Red Bull Racing RB20 had an adjusted floor, in addition to modifications to the portion of the upper sidepod where it meets with the engine cover. The Mercedes W15 had substantial upgrades, with changes to the front wing, front suspension, floor, and bodywork. Similarly, the McLaren MCL38 had several upgrades, specifically to improve the car's aerodynamics. This included modifications to the front wing, suspension, brake ducts, and beam wing. Likewise, the Aston Martin AMR24 had significant adjustments; this includes the front wing, floor, engine cover, and rear diffuser. The Alpine A524 had adjustments to its floor, rear wing, and bodywork. The Haas VF-24 also brought several changes to improve aerodynamics, including a modified floor and modified sidepods. The Kick Sauber C44 had a brand new front wing and suspension modifications, while the RB VCARB 01 had a new floor. The Ferrari SF-24 and Williams FW46 did not receive any upgrades.
Free practice The only free practice session was held on October 18, 2024, at 12:30 local time (UTC–5). It lasted for one hour, and was topped by Carlos Sainz Jr. of Ferrari with a time of 1.33.602. He was ahead of his teammate Charles Leclerc, who placed second, and Max Verstappen of Red Bull Racing, who placed third.
Sprint qualifying
Sprint qualifying was held on October 18 at 16:30 local time (UTC–5), and determined the starting grid order for the sprint race. It consisted of three sessions, with the five drivers with the lowest lap times being eliminated following each of the first two sessions. During the 12 minute long first session (SQ1), both Saubers consisting of Zhou Guanyu Valtteri Bottas were eliminated, in addition to Alex Albon of Williams, Esteban Ocon of Alpine, and Oscar Piastri of McLaren. Session 2 (SQ2) lasted for ten minutes, with Sergio Pérez and Pierre Gasly being eliminated in 11th and 12th, respectively. Lance Stroll, Fernando Alonso, and Liam Lawson were all eliminated because they did not set a legal lap time during the session. The third session (SQ3) lasted for eight minutes, and determined the final order of the remaining ten drivers. Max Verstappen of Red Bull Racing finished the session in first, with a lap time of 1:32.833. George Russell finished in second, with a gap of 0.012 seconds behind Verstappen. The Ferraris of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz Jr. finished in third and fifth, respectively; Lando Norris finished in fourth between them. Nico Hülkenberg, Lewis Hamilton, Kevin Magnussen, Yuki Tsunoda, and Franco Colapinto completing the top ten.
Sprint qualifying classification DriverConstructorSprintgridSQ1SQ2SQ311 Max VerstappenRed Bull Racing-Honda RBPT1:33.9081:33.2901:32.8331263 George RussellMercedes1:34.1251:33.5441:32.8452316 Charles LeclercFerrari1:33.6471:33.3921:33.059344 Lando NorrisMcLaren-Mercedes1:33.9191:33.5661:33.0834555 Carlos Sainz Jr.Ferrari1:34.1091:33.2741:33.0895627 Nico HülkenbergHaas-Ferrari1:34.8251:33.9941:33.1836744 Lewis HamiltonMercedes1:33.8401:33.3701:33.3787820Haas-Ferrari1:34.4031:33.7881:33.3988922 Yuki TsunodaRB-Honda RBPT1:34.6461:34.0521:33.80291043 Franco ColapintoWilliams-Mercedes1:34.6061:33.9521:34.406101111 Sergio PérezRed Bull Racing-Honda RBPT1:34.3331:34.244N/A111210 Pierre GaslyAlpine-Renault1:34.8651:34.363N/A121318 Lance Stroll1:34.324No timeN/A131414 Fernando AlonsoAston Martin Aramco-Mercedes1:34.436No timeN/A141530 Liam LawsonRB-Honda RBPT1:34.617No timeN/A151681 Oscar PiastriMcLaren-Mercedes1:34.881N/AN/A161731 Esteban Ocon Alpine-Renault1:34.917N/AN/A171823 Alexander AlbonWilliams-Mercedes1:35.054N/AN/A1977 Valtteri BottasKick Sauber-Ferrari1:35.148N/AN/A182024 Zhou GuanyuKick Sauber-Ferrari1:36.472N/AN/A19107% time: 1:40.202Source: Notes – Alexander Albon qualified 18th, but was required to start the sprint from the pit lane as his car was modified under parc fermé conditions.
Sprint The sprint was held on October 19, 2024, at 13:00 local time (UTC–5), and ran for 19 laps.
Sprint classification DriverConstructorTime/RetiredPoints1 1 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing-Honda RBPT 19 31:06.146 1 8255 Carlos Sainz Jr. Ferrari19 +3.882573 4 Lando Norris McLaren-Mercedes 19 +6.240 4 64 16 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 19 +6.956 3 55 63 George Russell Mercedes 19 +15.766 2 4644 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 19 +18.7247 3720 Haas-Ferrari 19 +25.1618 2827 Haas-Ferrari 19 +26.5886 1911 Sergio Pérez Red Bull Racing-Honda RBPT19 +29.9501110 81 Oscar Piastri McLaren-Mercedes 19 +37.059 161122 Yuki Tsunoda RB-Honda RBPT19 +38.36391243 Franco Colapinto Williams-Mercedes 19 +39.460101318 Lance Stroll Aston Martin Aramco-Mercedes19 +41.236131410 Pierre Gasly Alpine-Renault 19 +41.995121531 Esteban Ocon Alpine-Renault 19 +42.804171630 Liam Lawson RB-Honda RBPT 19 +44.008151723 Alexander Albon Williams-Mercedes 19 +44.56418 14 Fernando Alonso 19 +46.807 141924 Zhou GuanyuKick Sauber-Ferrari19 +52.842192077 Valtteri Bottas Kick Sauber-Ferrari 19 +54.47618Fastest lap: Max Verstappen (Red Bull Racing-Honda RBPT) – 1:37.463 (lap 19)Source: Notes – Oscar Piastri received a five-second time penalty for forcing Pierre Gasly off track. His final position was not affected by the penalty.
Qualifying Qualifying was held on October 19, 2024, at 17:00 local time (UTC–5), and determined the starting grid order for the main race.
Qualifying classification DriverConstructorQ1Q2Q314 Lando NorrisMcLaren-Mercedes 1:33.6161:32.8511:32.330121 Max VerstappenRed Bull Racing-Honda RBPT1:33.0461:32.5841:32.3612355 Carlos Sainz Jr.Ferrari1:33.5561:32.8361:32.6523416 Charles LeclercFerrari1:33.2411:32.9621:32.7404581 Oscar PiastriMcLaren-Mercedes1:33.8641:33.0571:32.9505663 George RussellMercedes1:33.5361:33.1421:32.974710 Pierre GaslyAlpine-Renault1:33.5501:33.1621:33.0186814 Fernando Alonso1:33.9731:33.4291:33.3097920Haas-Ferrari1:33.5641:33.4741:33.48181011 Sergio PérezRed Bull Racing-Honda RBPT1:33.6111:33.020No time91122 Yuki TsunodaRB-Honda RBPT1:33.7951:33.506N/A101227 Nico HülkenbergHaas-Ferrari1:33.6011:33.544N/A111331 Esteban OconAlpine-Renault1:33.9861:33.597N/A121418 Lance StrollAston Martin Aramco-Mercedes1:34.0331:33.759N/A131530 Liam LawsonRB-Honda RBPT1:33.339No timeN/A191623 Alexander AlbonWilliams-Mercedes1:34.051N/AN/A141743 Franco ColapintoWilliams-Mercedes1:34.062N/AN/A151877 Valtteri BottasKick Sauber-Ferrari1:34.152N/AN/A161944 Lewis HamiltonMercedes1:34.154N/AN/A172024 Zhou GuanyuKick Sauber-Ferrari1:34.228N/AN/A18107% time: 1:39.559Source: Notes – George Russell qualified sixth, but was required to start the race from the pit lane as his car was modified under parc fermé conditions. – Liam Lawson was required to start the race from the back of the grid for exceeding his quota of power unit elements. – Zhou Guanyu received a five-place grid penalty for a fourth energy store.
Race The race was held on October 20, 2024, at 14:00 local time (UTC–5), and ran for 56 laps.
Race report
The race was won by Charles Leclerc, followed by Carlos Sainz Jr. for a Ferrari 1-2, their first since 2006. The former taking the lead on the start while the latter was blocked by the front duo of Max Verstappen and Lando Norris. Pole-sitter Norris finished third on track, before being demoted to fourth by a penalty for overtaking Max Verstappen off-track. Similar to the incident between Verstappen and Norris, Alex Albon made contact with Esteban Ocon, resulting in damage to Albon, while Ocon dropped to last. Liam Lawson (RB), recovered from 19th to 9th on his return to Formula One. Both Mercedes drivers faced problems; Lewis Hamilton spun off at Turn 19, bringing out the Safety Car, while teammate George Russell, who was penalized for forcing Valtteri Bottas off the track, recovered to sixth, having crashed out in qualifying.
Race classification