Hamilton sets ‘awesome’ United States GP target

Lewis Hamilton has set his sights on besting Max Verstappen to the chequered flag at the United States Grand Prix.

Hamilton will start the race from third place while Verstappen will line up in sixth after enduring a challenging qualifying session at the Circuit of the Americas.

Red Bull driver Verstappen won the F1 Sprint on Saturday ahead of the seven-time World Champion, with Hamilton crossing the line over nine seconds behind the Red Bull driver.

The seven-time World Champion has conceded keeping Verstappen behind will be a challenge and on his rival's lowly starting position, Hamilton said: “I think that will be helpful for us at the front

“Ultimately, I think he will be breathing down our necks before too long with the pace he had [during the sprint race].

“But I think it will be open up for a good fight with Charles [Leclerc] and Lando [Norris] we're all quite similar in pace.

“So hopefully, we’ll get to have a good battle and if we can all keep Max behind, that'd be awesome. But if not, no worries.”

During the sprint race, Hamilton was able to cling on to Verstappen's rear for a handful of laps before dropping back.

Hamilton asserted he tried his best to get the better of his old title rival but couldn't match the pace of the Red Bull car.

“That was a fun race,” he said. “I had a good start down to Turn 1.

“I had a good battle with Charles, then I was trying early on to get closer to Max. But their pace is just undeniable at the moment.

“I'm happy, we’re a little bit closer, we still have a long way to be able to eke the pace that he was doing throughout the race.

“But nonetheless, I'm really happy to be back on the podium.”