Verstappen continues his flawless performance. He tuned up for Sunday’s pursuit with a sprint win

The fifth sprint of this season was hosted by the circuit in Austin, USA. Max Verstappen capped a perfect Saturday with a convincing victory at the second of three Formula 1 stops in the USA this year. Lewis Hamilton took important points for second place in the Drivers’ Cup.

The first position change came before the start. George Russell got in the way of Charles Leclerc in the sprint qualifying and was penalised by the sports commissioners. It pushed the British driver back three places. However, Russell quickly erased his penalty by fighting his way back to eighth place on the first lap.

The first lap went well for Carlos Sainz. He was the only one to put on the softest set of tyres and was significantly quicker than the McLarens starting ahead of him in the opening laps. However, on soft tyres it’s hard to maintain pace throughout the 19 laps, so in the second half of the race the Spaniard began to drop back through the field to the position he started from.

Leclerc’s attack into the first corner was repelled by Verstappen without any significant problems. He forced the Ferrari driver through the corner at a very awkward angle, which Hamilton took advantage of, slipping to second place on the outside.

Hamilton held on to Verstappen until the start of lap six. However, the Dutchman finally worked his way to a lead of more than a second, taking the DRS advantage away from his 2021 rival.

Russell was again in the crosshairs of the sports commissioners with his manoeuvre on Oscar Piastri. He passed the Australian rookie off the track, earning himself a five-second penalty.

Piastri was later easy prey for Pierre Gasly and Alex Albon. He overheated his tyres at the start of the race and before he got all the temperatures under control, he dropped down to tenth place.

The second half of the race certainly didn’t help the European fans stay awake during the night hours in which the race was broadcast. The only on-track battle was between Sainz and Russell for sixth place. Russell’s penalty, however, still meant that overtaking the Ferrari driver would do him no good.

Final results

Verstappen crossed the line almost 10 seconds ahead of second-placed Hamilton. The British driver thus equalled his best finish in a sprint race. Verstappen once again demonstrated the great race pace that he will need in the main race, as he will start the race from sixth place.

Third place was held by the winner of Friday’s qualifying for the US Grand Prix – Monaco’s Leclerc. However, he slowed considerably in the final laps, with fourth-placed Lando Norris closing the gap from 3 seconds to 8 tenths in two laps.

Fifth place went to Sergio Pérez, losing another three points in his battle with Hamilton for second place in the Drivers’ Cup.

Sainz, Gasly and Russell took the final points positions. Russell’s penalty almost pushed him out of the points, after adding 5 seconds to his time he finished just 3 tenths ahead of ninth placed Albon.

The only one who didn’t finish the race was Lance Stroll. The Canadian driver retired after 16 laps due to brake failure.

#F1SPRINT CLASSIFICATION

Verstappen romps to a third Sprint win of the season

Norris wasn't far off catching Leclerc for third 👀#F1 #USGP pic.twitter.com/ALs0pU5p7k

— Formula 1 (@F1) October 21, 2023

Source: F1TV, Twitter / X