Ferrari's 1-2 finish in the 2024 United States Grand Prix needs to be celebrated, for the result itself, and how Ferrari set themselves up for victory. After mid-season struggles with bouncing, Ferrari backed their "Monza" upgrade to deliver in Austin, and it did. Ferrari was the quickest car around the Circuit of the Americas.

Charles Leclerc shot off into the lead after Max Verstappen ran Lando Norris wide on Turn 1 of the opening lap. LEC was not to be caught after this race winning move. As for Carlos Sainz, he used Ferrari's superior tyre degradation to undercut Verstappen and end his 7 race streak of no-podium finishes! In fact, Verstappen-Red Bull Racing's handling of Sainz's potential undercut threat was a clear indication of who their target was - Lando Norris, their title rival.

The resurfaced COTA offered lesser tyre degradation and turned the race into a single-stopper; and after their round of stops, Norris was, once again, required to chase Verstappen on-track and overtake him. Verstappen put up a mega defence, as he always does, and again, as he always does, stretched the rule book to ensure Norris was put in a difficult spot - yield and back off, or overtake off-track. Norris took the bait, and pulled off the overtake off-track. McLaren left the ruling to the FIA Stewards, who penalised Norris (5 seconds time penalty), but let Verstappen, who was also off-track during their skirmish, escape scot-free! Of course, all hell has broken loose on social media, with fans highlighting the FIA's inconsistencies over the years, and also, judgments favouring Verstappen.

In this episode of the Inside Line F1 Podcast, Soumil Arora, @f1statsguru and Kunal Shah discuss the 2024 USA Grand Prix, Verstappen-Norris and why the FIA ruled the way they did, Verstappen's knowledge of the "rules of on-track engagement", Liam Lawson & Franco Colapinto's mega drives to out-score their experienced team-mates, and of course, Haas' super successful home race at COTA.

Tune in!

(Season 2024, Episode 52)

Follow our hosts on Twitter: Soumil Arora, @f1statsguru and Kunal Shah

Image courtesy: Ferrari

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