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The USGP 2021 was one of the best races at the COTA track ever since F1 made its Austin debut in 2012. Max Verstappen drove a masterclass in tire management as he held off a rampaging Lewis Hamilton.
Hamilton chased Verstappen down on eight-laps-fresher tires, but Max emerged victorious, extending his lead in the championship by 12 points.
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This didn't seem possible when Hamilton made his second stop in the race and started closing down the gap on Verstappen at a steady rate. To add to this, Lewis had a car that was much quicker on the straights. Max Verstappen was somehow able to eke out just enough speed from his tires that Lewis Hamilton never got a chance to enter the DRS zone.
Verstappen wins Driver of the Day, and how it affects the F1 2021 championship standings
There were quite a few stand-out drives in the field during the race. Sebastian Vettel made his way through the field from P18 to P10. Charles Leclerc extracted the most that he could have from the Ferrari, and Ricciardo put together a vintage performance. Through all of this, however, the one driver that made the F1 US GP 2021 a memorable one was undoubtedly Max Verstappen.
And rightly so. F1 fans appreciated that and awarded Verstappen the F1 "Driver of the Day" for his win over seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton. Max Verstappen was voted the driver of the day with as many as 22.7% votes to his name, followed by Lewis Hamilton on 17.1%.
The win at the F1 USGP 2021 does change the championship standings to a large extent. With only five races remaining now and Max Verstappen enjoying a12 points lead in the championship, the balance has tilted towards Verstappen when it comes to the championship battle.
Out of the next five tracks, Mexico, Abu Dhabi and Brazil favor Red Bull with its recent success even during its not-so-successful seasons. Even at Austin today, where COTA was expected to be a Mercedes circuit, Red Bull was able to challenge and beat Mercedes in a straight fight on the track.
With just five races remaining and a well-fought win at COTA, Red Bull and Max Verstappen are clearly the favorites for the title.
