Norris penalised after Verstappen fight as Leclerc cruises to Austin glory

Charles Leclerc cruised to a comfortable victory in the United States Grand Prix, as Ferrari dominanted the podium at the Circuit of the Americas. 

Leclerc breezed from fourth to first at the opening corner after capitalising on Max Verstappen and Lando Norris squabbling over the lead. 

The two title rivals ran very wide, allowing Leclerc to cut up the inside of the duo. Ferrari's star never looked back, and won with ease. A successful undercut on Verstappen by Carlos Sainz at the first round of pit stops saw the Spaniard finish second, completing a Ferrari one-two. 

Norris crossed the line in third after recovering from fourth  – the position he found himself in after his opening corner fight with Verstappen – but received a five-second time penalty. 

Norris was penalised for overtaking Verstappen off the circuit in the closing stages, promoting the Red Bull driver onto the podium.

Oscar Piastri completed the top five, whilst Lewis Hamilton's US GP ended in misery on the third lap.

Opening phase

Norris' starts from pole position have been mixed this season, a trend which continued at the start of the race. With title rival Verstappen alongside him on the front row, it was Norris who made the better launch. 

The Briton moved across on the entry to the first corner to stop Verstappen from diving up the inside; however, Norris did not move across enough.

Verstappen had space to dive up the inside of Norris, sending both drivers wide. It offered acres of space on the inside for Leclerc, who swept past the pair and into the lead from fourth on the grid. 

Norris tumbled to fourth behind Sainz, whilst Verstappen remained in second. At the back, Esteban Ocon was sent spinning by Alex Albon, and Hamilton rocketed from P18 to 12th by the end of the first lap. 

Hamilton's impressive start was, ultimately, for nothing, as the seven-time world champion span on the third lap at Turn 19. It triggered an early safety car – the first in 10 races – as the Mercedes became beached in the gravel.

The safety car peeled back into the pits at the end of lap five, releasing Leclerc to restart the race. Leclerc restarted the race emphatically and built a 1.2s gap to Verstappen within a lap, by lap 10/56, the gap was three seconds. 

Leclerc quickly gained control of the race, whilst at the back, Zhou Guanyu span on is own at the first corner. It was not all roses for Ferrari, though, as Sainz complained of no power and the smell of fuel in his SF24. 

Thankfully, for Sainz, Ferrari got on top of the issue. As for Norris, he was in a lonely fourth on lap 12. On the topic of issues, Red Bull informed Verstappen on lap 14 of a fault with his RB20 which could be fixed at his first pit-stop. 

At the end of lap 15, Leclerc led by six seconds, ahead of Verstappen, Sainz, Norris, Piastri and Alpine's Pierre Gasly. 

In the midfield, George Russell had progressed to P13 after starting from the pit lane; however, received a five-second time penalty for forcing Valtteri Bottas off the circuit.

Differing strategies

Lap 18, and Sergio Perez finally navigated his way past Yuki Tsunoda for eighth, with the Mexican having been enduring a miserable race. Russell also moved into the top 10 after overtaking Liam Lawson.

Back at the front, and Sainz was the first of the lead drivers to pit at the end of lap 21, in an attempt to undercut Verstappen for second. 

The Spanish driver was booted with a set of hard tyres, indicating a likely one-stop – the expected strategy for most of the grid. Interestingly, Red Bull opted against pitting Verstappen the following lap in response. 

Verstappen eventually pitted at the end of lap 25 and rejoined 4.5s adrift of Sainz. It marked a successful undercut for Ferrari, who pitted Leclerc from the lead on the following lap. Leclerc's pit-stop was faultless, with the Monegasque having rejoined in third. 

Both Ferraris and Verstappen pitting promoted the McLarens into first and second, but with a pit-stop still to make. 

It was not all doom and gloom for McLaren, as Norris' and Piastri's pace on old mediums was quicker than Verstappen's on fresh hards. Unfortunately for the papaya pair, Leclerc's pace was exceptional. 

Leclerc breezed past Piastri at Turn 12 on lap 31, triggering McLaren to react by pitting Norris. It returned the lead of the race to Leclerc, whilst Norris rejoined in fifth – 6.4s behind Verstappen. Piastri pitted a lap later and rejoined behind Norris. 

McLaren's strategy by pitting later was to have a tyre advantage in the latter stages, something which was evident. Norris quickly started taking significant chunks out of his deficit to Verstappen, who complained of poor grip.

Norris-Verstappen boils over

It was music to Norris' ears, as he got onto the back of Verstappen on lap 43. Norris had several laps to size up Verstappen, whilst Leclerc and Sainz were in cruise control in first and second.

Norris' tyre advantage was visible, as the championship leader found himself missing the apex of several corners. The battle truly began on lap 47, as Norris attempted his first move on the Red Bull driver. 

The first move was unsuccessful, following excellent defending by the three-time world champion. Norris found himself always being not quite close enough to Verstappen ahead of the main straight, between Turns 11 and 12. 

Lap 51 was Norris' next genuine attempt, except it came this time at the Turn 14, 15 and 16 complex. Again, it was unsuccessful, yet Norris remained on the gearbox of Verstappen.

The following lap and finally Norris got past at Turn 12; however, both drivers went off the circuit. 

Seconds later and Norris cut across the front of Verstappen at Turn 1, further infuriating Verstappen. However, Verstappen's frustration soon ended, following Norris' penalty for overtaking the Dutchman off the circuit.

At the front and there was no denying Leclerc's and Ferrari's dominance, as the 27-year-old crossed the finish line to win the US GP, ahead of Sainz in a triumphant one-two for the Italian outfit. 

Piastri finished in fifth ahead of Perez, Russell, Nico Hulkenberg, Lawson and Franco Colapinto, who completed the top 10.