THE BIG PICTURE: We get celebrity power enhances the cachet of Formula 1. But for the love of God, find someone who can actually wave a checkered flag. That was the lamest, most unenthusiastic checkered flag waver (we won't even give him an acknowledgement by naming him) in the history of the sport.

EVENT: We think America has truly embraced Formula 1. Just a hunch...

TRACK: Some bumps are coming back, but the track remains very racy.

QUALIFYING: Ferrari converts their one lap speed into the front row but only Sainz will get to start there, Red Bull is next but Perez will drop, Alfa Romeo finds speed with Bottas as Zhou also makes Q3 then doesn't, Stroll likes North America, Ricciardo continues to drive into oblivion, and Ocon is shocked.

RACE: Just when it looked like it was going to settle into a ho hum affair, the race exploded with excitement and wheel to wheel action throughout from top to bottom.

START: Once again Sainz doesn't last a lap as this time Russell bangs him off, Verstappen already had the field under submission, Vettel leaps up into fifth, and Perez and Leclerc begin their march.

VERSTAPPEN: So, the team decided to throw in a slow pit stop to make Max work for it this time...

PEREZ: Do you think Red Bull will let Sergio win in Mexico next week?

RED BULL: They knock Mercedes off from the Constructors throne.

HAMILTON: Let's be real here. If it were not for the Red Bull pit stop snafu, Lewis would never have been anywhere close to almost winning this race. It was fun, but it wasn't realistic.

RUSSELL: Back into the top five, but not a clean race for George.

MERCEDES: Their eight year dynasty ends. We're sure they won't be down for long.

LECLERC: Salvaged a podium spot.

SAINZ: A key to racing is not to put yourself into a position where you can be a victim. Carlos' poor start put him in a position to be a victim.

FERRARI: Same old, same old. One lap speed. Race length dud.

NORRIS: Lance was finally happy after a race.

RICCIARDO: Last year, Daniel drove a stock car around COTA. This year, he arrived on a horse. Next year, he'll be forgotten.

VETTEL: Sebastian drove like a man possessed. Where was that fire the past two years...?

MAGNUSSEN: This time (barely) avoided first lap contact but still managed to drop to last place. Then, successfully employed a one-stop strategy for a much overdue points position.

STROLL: Whoa, that was a very late block which could have been catastrophic.

ALONSO: After nearly going into orbit, coming down hard, and then hitting the guardrail, how in the freaking world was that car able to continue and was still good enough to finish the race in seventh (before the penalty).

ALPINE: They spend how much money to build and design a car to perfection only to find out it's just as fast all smashed up?

HAAS: Good for Guenther Steiner to lodge that protest and show the world the double standards of FIA officiating between the have and have not teams.

FIA And even then, the FIA still ruled based on the have and have not teams.

SARGEANT: Barring a complete mess of the last F2 weekend, America will finally get a driver back in F1. Remember, Logan had his teammate, a certain guy by the name of Oscar Piastri, beat for the 2020 F3 title, before making two terrible mistakes in the last weekend. And he's been quite fast in F2 this year.

ANDRETTI: That's the Andretti, as in Mario. And he can still drive a car probably faster than half the professional drivers out there.

MATESCHITZ: Dietrich was one of the most influential, powerful figures in F1 for the past almost four decades, mostly from the shadows.

WORD OF THE WEEKEND: Action.

STAT OF THE WEEKEND: 440,000 -- The weekend attendance. Supposedly, but we'll go with it. That's probably more than Abu Dhabi, Bahrain, Saudia Arabia, and Qatar combined for all the years they ran...

HISTORICAL STAT OF THE WEEKEND: 1981 was the last time a driver won two Grands Prix on American soil in the same season. They also happened to be the first and last races on the schedule and were the only two races Alan Jones won that year, driving a Williams-Ford. He won Long Beach after starting second, his third consecutive victory after winning the title the year before. He took the utterly rancid Caesars Palace event also from the second starting spot, the last Australian win until Mark Webber in 2009. Jones finished third in the championship.

TWEET OF THE WEEKEND: The F1 Memes tweet:
- Crashes on the straight
- Does a wheely
- Hugs the barrier
- Controls the car
- Refuses to elaborate and carries on

QUOTE OF THE WEEKEND: When Max Verstappen failed to win pole, his response perfectly suumarize the 2022 season, "It doesn't matter. The car will be quick tomorrow. That's the most important."

QUOTE OF THE WEEKEND RUNNERUP: Kevin Magnussen after his epic last lap battle with Sebastian Vettel, "Of course I'm pissed off to lose out but I have to say that was some of the best racing I've ever been involved in. The way he drove was just incredible. Racing against him, it doesn't feel like it's at the end of his career."

SCHEDULE: From the Texas BBQ to the Mexican fiesta.

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