The Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, once again welcomed F1, with its high-speed twists and elevation changes challenging the drivers through a weekend of scorching heat and chaos. Round 19, and the fourth Sprint weekend of the season, Ollie took to the track at one of the home races for his North Carolina-based team.
Practice
Friday’s only practice session saw Ollie settle in nicely, posting the tenth fastest time on the soft compound tyres towards the end of the session. With air temperatures touching 30℃, Ollie extracted a solid performance from the car and set himself up for the Sprint and GP sessions.
Sprint Qualifying
Ollie held strong in the top 15 for much of the opening qualifying session but was unable to complete his final run properly, pushing him to P16 for the 100km sprint.
Sprint Race
Chaotic from the first lap, and with championship leaders caught up in early incidents, Ollie’s composure and quick reactions meant he was able to avoid flying debris and three-wheeled cars, gaining an astonishing eight places in the opening lap.
Climbing through the pack and putting himself into the points, Ollie showed decent pace and soon had previous F2 teammate Kimi Antonelli on his tail. Around Lap 15, things got even closer when Antonelli tried to overtake, with Ollie defending the move, but leaving the track in doing so.
It was later ruled that Antonelli had the lead going into the corner, meaning Ollie had gained an advantage by leaving the track and should have given the place to Antonelli. As he did not do this, Ollie was handed a ten-second time penalty.
Moments later, the Aston Martin of Lance Stroll took out Ollie’s teammate, Ocon, prompting a safety car. The race finished under the safety car, and since it had bunched up the pack, once Ollie’s penalty was applied, he was P15 - an unfortunate finish to a race where he showed great pace.
Grand Prix Qualifying
Following the Sprint drama, qualifying for the main race saw Ollie once again showing strong pace. After a red-flagged Q1, he progressed safely through into Q2 and then Q3. There, he delivered impressive laps, placing in the top five in the opening moments. A final lap time deletion for exceeding track limits meant Ollie qualified in P8.
The Race
Off to a strong start, Ollie recovered quickly from early position drops. By Lap 8, he was back where he had started (P8), under two seconds behind the Red Bull of Tsunoda and keeping a strong rhythm on the medium compound tyres.
Strategic pit stops and consistent pace allowed Ollie to maintain pressure through the latter half of the race, where he pitted for soft compound tyres and rejoined still in P9. On Lap 35, Ollie was chasing Tsunoda and went in to overtake, but the two cars made contact, sending Ollie’s Haas into a spin.
Despite the spin, Ollie managed to keep the car under excellent control, avoiding excessive damage, and even managed to maintain P9, meaning he finished in the points.
Looking Ahead
With five races remaining, Ollie heads to Mexico City next, where he aims to continue his streak of strong finishes. Currently, he is P18 in the championship, but with just 12 points separating him from the five drivers above, there is still a lot to play for.
Focus
All in
Inspire