Triple world champion Max Verstappen (Red Bull) won the sprint race of the Formula 1 United States Grand Prix on Saturday at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin.
The Dutchman, who started from pole position, beat the Briton Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) and the Monegasque Charles Leclerc (Ferrari).
The day after his disappointing sixth place during Grand Prix qualifying, Verstappen took his revenge on Saturday by taking pole and victory in the penultimate sprint of the season, which he flew from start to finish.
He first made a successful start by repelling Leclerc’s attack well before the first corner, before irremediably widening the gap on his pursuers.
“It was a little tight at the first corner, but we left ourselves enough room and afterward, I was able to complete my race. The pace of the car was very good today and I will need it tomorrow [dimanche] starting from sixth place, because I also want to win the Grand Prix,” said the Dutchman.
Hamilton closes in on Pérez
Hamilton, who finished more than nine seconds behind at the end of the 19 laps of the race, however fulfilled his objective of the day by taking three points from Mexican Sergio Pérez, fifth on Saturday, in the battle for second place in the championship.
“It was a fun race. I had a good start and it was a good battle with Charles [Leclerc]. I tried to hold on to Max [Verstappen] but his pace was just incredible. However, I am very happy with this result,” said the seven-time world champion, who is now 27 lengths behind Pérez.
Leclerc, who had won pole position for the Grand Prix on Friday and almost did it again on Saturday, finally started second and quickly fell back one place after trying to attack Verstappen at the start of the race. The Monegasque, however, secured his place on the podium by resisting the return of the McLaren of Briton Lando Norris.
“There was a small opportunity, I tried to pass. Lewis [Hamilton] took advantage of it but anyway, he was a little faster than us today. We will analyze the race data well and I hope we can win the Grand Prix tomorrow [dimanche]“, explained the Ferrari driver.
Russell penalized, Gasly takes advantage
Spaniard Carlos Sainz took sixth place for the Scuderia after fending off the attacks of George Russell (Mercedes). The Briton, who crossed the line in seventh position, however finished eighth after receiving a five-second penalty for overtaking outside the limits of the track.
Pierre Gasly (Alpine) took advantage of the opportunity to climb to seventh place and score two points in the championship.
“I had to pass the Williams entrance exam, which I did. Then I managed to stay aggressive and make a nice overtake on [Oscar] Piastri. Then it was not easy, there was a lot of deterioration in the tires but I was able to stay quite close to Russell,” declared the Frenchman on Canal+.
His teammate and compatriot finished in eleventh place after a frustrating race. “I made a good start, gaining a few places, but after that, I lacked pace. We lacked speed, we were slow from start to finish, complained the Norman. I hope tomorrow will be another day. »
On Sunday, during the Grand Prix, which will start at 2 p.m., Max Verstappen will start in sixth position and will try to make another comeback to win the 50e success of his career. But he will have a hard time facing Ferrari, Mercedes and McLaren who will try to prevent him from achieving new success.