'Holy cow': World in disbelief over 'insane' scenes at US Grand Prix
Fans around the world were left gobsmacked on Sunday when 140,000 fans packed into the Circuit of the Americas for the United States Grand Prix.
Fans flocked to watch the Formula One race as the sport returned to America for the first time since the Covid-19 pandemic.
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And in scenes barely believable during the global outbreak, some 140,000 packed into the stands shoulder-to-shoulder with hardly anyone wearing masks.
While many expressed their joy that the world is finally getting back to normal, others expressed concerns due to the number of deaths the US continues to suffer because of the virus.
Hardly anyone in the enormous crowd seemed to be wearing masks, while social-distancing is well-and-truly a thing of the past.
Vaccination rates are also quite low in Texas considering the number of cases and deaths in America.
Fans reportedly didn't need to be vaccinated in order to attend.
Some social media users labelled the event a potential "super-spreader", while others described the scenes as "insane" and "unbelievable".
140,000 at @COTA for the #F1 #USGP. Incredible. @NASCAR, @ausgrandprix - take note! 🙂👍 https://t.co/74ud7zwwhX
— Conor McNally (@ckmcnally1) October 24, 2021
140,000 people in one area, in a state that's not totally hip to the vaccine scene, does make me a bit 😬. #USGP #F1
— Mike (@pacificPDX) October 24, 2021
Great and all but I heard transportation is a massive failure... Also, Texas and anti-vaxxers and yeah, I'm gonna skip this even for a few more years.
— Edward Chan (@edwardhchan) October 24, 2021
How many people are there wtf
— Joris (@j0rissss) October 24, 2021
Another Texas Superspreader. At least we get to see F1 in our time zone.
— Matt Flanagan (@kb6jra) October 24, 2021
Holy cow i don't like this at all! I can't tell what color seats are painted!
— KDEPP (@KDEPP1) October 24, 2021
And not a mask in sight, in one of the worst areas for COVID in the US. Bravo, F1, for bringing ~300k unmasked strangers together!
— Cadence Meetings and Coffee (@SteffenSpear) October 24, 2021
“Covid-19 liked that”
— Berkay (@bdotsenol) October 24, 2021
No masks. Unbelievable
— donutformation (@donutformation) October 24, 2021
With those insane crowd numbers I think we can officially announce that F1 has arrived in America
— Matt Gallagher (@MattyWTF1) October 24, 2021
Max Verstappen holds off Lewis Hamilton to win
Max Verstappen held off Lewis Hamilton for the final five laps of the 56-lap race to win his first United States Grand Prix and extend his points lead from six to 12 with five races to go in 2021.
Verstappen pitted before Hamilton on each of the race's two pit stop rounds.
Hamilton stayed out as long as possible during his middle stint to have a fresher tire advantage over the final laps of the race.
And while he cut Verstappen's lead to a second at a couple of points over the final two laps, he was never able to get the DRS advantage on a straightaway.
Hamilton could have won the race had he gotten that advantage.
The Mercedes is much faster in a straight line than the Red Bull and would have had an absurd speed advantage on Verstappen on the long backstretch at Circuit of the Americas with the Drag Reduction System activated.
But he didn't get close enough to have that opportunity as Verstappen held on with tires that were eight laps older.
with agencies
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