Verstappen takes US F1 Sprint win ahead of Hamilton

Max Verstappen has won the sprint race from the Circuit of the Americas, converting his pole position into victory.

Verstappen was challenged by Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc into the first corner however the Red Bull driver squeezed his rival to the edge of the track to retain the lead.

From there, the Dutchman held the lead all the way to the chequered flag to add to his title-winning points tally.

Leclerc’s tight angle into Turn 1 allowed Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton to pull alongside and ahead on the exit, as he escaped scrutiny from the stewards despite making the overtake with all four wheels off the track.

In the opening laps, Hamilton stayed within the DRS zone of Verstappen but slowly faded back to cross the line in second place.

Taking the final spot inside the top three was Leclerc who couldn’t keep up with the leading duo.

Lando Norris was fourth on the road after successfully overtaking Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz on lap 10 of the race. Norris managed to close down a six-second gap to Leclerc but ran out of time to challenge for third.

Sainz was the only driver to complete the race on the Soft compound as the rest of the field was equipped with Mediums.

The Spaniard struggled in the final laps as his tyres wore away and he also found himself being overtaken by Sergio Perez.

George Russell attacked Sainz in the second half of the race but couldn't make an overtake stick, with Sainz holding onto sixth place on the road.

However, Russell was demoted from seventh to eighth after being handed a five-second time penalty for moving ahead of Oscar Piastri earlier in the race while he was over the white lines.

Pierre Gasly benefitted from the penalty to take two points for Alpine.