Sam Johnston
Senior sports journalist
Max Verstappen converts pole into victory and seals record third sprint victory of the 2023 season; Lewis Hamilton beats Charles Leclerc into second after an overtaking maneuver on the opening lap; watch the United States Grand Prix live on Sky Sports F1 and the Main Event on Sunday at 8 p.m.
Last updated: 10/22/23 12:21 PM
Max Verstappen held off Lewis Hamilton’s early challenge to claim a record third sprint victory of the season at the United States Grand Prix.
Red Bull’s Verstappen, who sealed his third consecutive drivers’ title at the previous round of the 2023 championship in Qatar, led the 19 laps from start to finish and became the first driver to win three sprints in a season.
Hamilton was given the benefit of the doubt by the stewards after going off track while overtaking Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc on the opening lap and putting early pressure on Verstappen in the early stages.
However, the Dutchman left the DRS range around a third of the way through the race and then opened up a nine-second lead, suggesting he will have a strong chance of taking another win in Sunday’s Grand Prix, despite only having started sixth at Sunday’s Grand Prix. schedule.
Leclerc, who started from pole on Sunday, finished a further eight seconds behind Hamilton, suggesting Ferrari are in for a challenging afternoon.
After losing a place on the opening lap, Lando Norris regained his starting position from fourth and showed promising pace in the closing stages, indicating that he, along with Hamilton, will likely challenge Verstappen on Sunday, starting from second respectively and third place. .
Verstappen’s teammate Sergio Perez rose from seventh on the grid to fifth, but lost ground to Hamilton in the drivers’ standings as he tried to hold onto second place and seal Red Bull’s first-ever one-two.
Carlos Sainz benefited from being the only driver to use soft tires instead of the medium compound, jumping two places at the start but ultimately finishing where he started in sixth.
Pierre Gasly finished seventh for Alpine, while George Russell held on to the final point for Mercedes after receiving a five-second penalty for going off track while passing McLaren’s Oscar Piastri.
United States GP sprint result
1) Max Verstappen, Red Bull (8 points)
2) Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes (7 points)
3) Charles Leclerc, Ferrari (6 points)
4) Lando Norris, McLaren (5 points)
5) Sergio Perez, Red Bull (4 points)
6) Carlos Sainz, Ferrari (3 points)
7) Pierre Gasly, Alpine (2 points)
8) George Russell, Mercedes (1 point)
9) Alex Albon, Williams
10) Oscar Piastri, McLaren
The sprint ends after an exciting start
There was a lot of mystery surrounding the sprint after two hugely entertaining qualifying sessions in which Verstappen was pushed and even beaten on Friday.
Verstappen had taken sprint pole earlier on Saturday, but Leclerc, Hamilton and Norris were all within just over a tenth of a second of his lead.
It remained to be seen whether that tightness would translate into race pace – or at least a reduced race pace, and the early signs were promising.
Leclerc tried to pass Verstappen after he had cleared the first corner, but exposed himself to an attack from Hamilton, who also fended off Norris.
While Verstappen held the lead, sparring resulted in a reshuffle behind him as both Leclerc and Norris fell back after failing in their overtaking attempts.
Hamilton’s Mercedes, which has been fitted with a significantly modified floor as part of their final major upgrade package of the season, initially appeared to have the pace to rival the leading Red Bull as he stayed within a second through the opening six laps.
However, hopes of an unlikely victory disappeared when Verstappen suddenly started to pull away quickly for a comfortable victory.
“It (the start) was quite tight,” said Verstappen. “Luckily there was a lot of space in Turn 1, so that helps.
“Then we could run our own race and control the pace a bit. At the end we had some fun and were able to push a little more.
“The DRS with such big wings on this track is quite powerful. Once I got through the DRS we all got into our own rhythm and I think the speed of our car was very good.”
Verstappen’s lead over Perez in the drivers’ standings grows to 213 points, with the 26-year-old given the chance on Sunday to equal his 2022 record of 15 wins in a season, and likely break last year’s points total.
When can you watch the US GP and F1 Academy Final live only on Sky Sports F1?
Sunday October 22
- 3.30pm: F1 Academy Race Three
- 6:30 PM: Grand Prix Sunday: build-up to the American GP
- 8 p.m.: THE GRAND PRIZE OF THE UNITED STATES (also on Sky Sports Main Event)
- 10 p.m.: Checkered flag: response from the American GP
- 11pm: Ted’s notebook
Watch Formula 1 return to Texas on Sunday for the United States Grand Prix, lights out at 8pm at Circuit of The Americas. Stream F1 on Sky Sports with NOW