Verstappen dominates Austin’s F1 Sprint, with Sainz second and Norris third. Haas moves ahead of RB F1 in the standings.
The first race of the weekend is already upon us – the Sprint for the United States Grand Prix in F1. Max Verstappen takes pole position for this 100 km dash, ahead of George Russell, with Charles Leclerc and Lando Norris occupying the next spots. This means four different teams fill the front two rows of the grid.
Carlos Sainz lines up fifth, followed by Nico Hülkenberg, Lewis Hamilton, and Kevin Magnussen. Completing the top ten are Yuki Tsunoda and Franco Colapinto, with Sergio Pérez and Pierre Gasly behind them. Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso follow, with Liam Lawson and Oscar Piastri next, ahead of Esteban Ocon, Valtteri Bottas, Guanyu Zhou, and Alex Albon.
Albon, in fact, opted to make set-up changes in a bid to optimise his performance ahead of the main race. The Williams driver was not satisfied with his Sprint Qualifying setup, having been eliminated in SQ1. Now, he’s using the Sprint as a live-testing ground.
The weather is favourable on this Saturday, with the sun shining and high temperatures. The track temperature has climbed to 44 degrees Celsius, while the air stands at a warm 27 degrees – ideal conditions for the Sprint.
19:57: The entire grid is off on medium tyres for the 100 km sprint.
Start: Lando Norris makes a superb start, capitalising on Russell’s slowing down ahead of the Ferraris to snatch second place! Meanwhile, Alonso briefly runs off track.
Lap 1: Tsunoda battles with the Haas cars, while Hamilton holds sixth ahead of them. Leclerc overtakes Russell, only for the Mercedes to reclaim third position.
Lap 2: Verstappen has opened up less than a one-second lead over Norris, with Russell holding third. Russell stays ahead of Leclerc, followed by Sainz, Hamilton, Magnussen, Tsunoda, and Hülkenberg, who has lost three places. Pérez has passed Colapinto, while Stroll has overtaken Gasly. Piastri gains two positions ahead of Lawson and Alonso, with Ocon, Bottas, Zhou, and Albon, who has already caught up with the pack. The Ferraris briefly tussled, but their positions remain unchanged.
Lap 3: Verstappen sets the fastest lap with a time of 1’38″688, quickly beaten by Norris with 1’38″583, and then by Russell with 1’38″452. The top three are separated by just 1.7 seconds. Sainz makes another attack, but Leclerc continues to hold him off.
Lap 4: Verstappen sets the fastest lap with a time of 1’37″906, yet Norris remains within roughly a second. Russell and Leclerc are close behind, with the Monegasque driver asking his team to focus on closing the gap to those ahead, rather than defending against his teammate. Meanwhile, Piastri overtakes Gasly to move into 13th.
Lap 5: Verstappen has now pulled Norris out of DRS range, while Russell is just half a second behind the McLaren. Sainz has overtaken Leclerc.
Lap 6: Norris stays within 1.3 seconds of Verstappen, keeping Russell in his slipstream. Is the McLaren driver conserving his tyres for a late Sprint push? Tsunoda briefly gets past Magnussen, but the Haas driver quickly retakes seventh. Norris finds himself under attack from Russell, needing to defend against the Mercedes, which plays into Verstappen’s hands.
Lap 7: Verstappen now holds a two-second lead over Norris, who has managed to push Russell back to nine-tenths after their battle. Norris’ race engineer confirms that Red Bull is experiencing higher tyre degradation compared to McLaren. Meanwhile, Piastri gets past Stroll.
Lap 8: Verstappen’s lead over Norris narrows to 1.7 seconds, with Russell now a full second behind the McLaren. Sainz and Leclerc are gaining on the Mercedes, while Hamilton has fallen 1.6 seconds behind the Ferraris, though he enjoys a comfortable six-second buffer over Magnussen. Alonso tries to pass Lawson, but the New Zealander fights back, allowing Ocon to overtake both drivers.
Lap 9: Norris closes back in on Verstappen, reducing the gap to 1.4 seconds, while Sainz overtakes Russell to move into third, 2.2 seconds adrift. Leclerc is now closing in on the Mercedes. Russell was forced off the track during the move, which could prompt race direction to investigate, especially as Piastri is already under scrutiny for pushing Gasly off track during an earlier pass.
Lap 10: Norris is now just 1.3 seconds behind Verstappen, with Sainz trailing the Briton by 2.4 seconds. Leclerc overtakes Russell to claim fourth place. Hülkenberg moves past Tsunoda, putting Haas in contention for three points, which would bring them level with Red Bull F1 in the standings.
Lap 11: Verstappen extends his lead to 1.9 seconds over Norris. Sainz is two seconds further back, with Leclerc only one second behind his teammate. Russell is starting to fall away, and Piastri has been handed a five-second penalty.
Lap 12: Leclerc clocks the fastest lap of the race, with a 1’37″748, and is now just nine-tenths behind his teammate. Up front, Verstappen’s advantage has grown beyond two seconds over Norris.
Lap 13: Pérez overtakes Tsunoda for ninth, while Piastri passes Colapinto. The gap between the two leaders stretches to 2.2 seconds. Leclerc is now pressing Sainz, sitting just half a second behind. Piastri attempts a move on Tsunoda, but the Japanese driver holds firm.
Lap 14: The gaps remain steady among the top eight, with Pérez notably slower than the Haas cars, losing around a second in the previous lap.
Lap 15: Tsunoda receives team orders to let Piastri through, but he protests, arguing that the Australian forced him off the track—much like Piastri’s earlier move against Gasly, and it’s hard to disagree.
Lap 16: Verstappen holds a 2.4-second lead over Norris, while Sainz and Leclerc fail to close the gap. Piastri eventually overtakes Tsunoda. Although Pérez picks up pace, he’s not catching the Haas duo. Tsunoda is under investigation for gaining an off-track advantage.
Lap 17: Verstappen extends his lead to 2.6 seconds over Norris, with 1.1 seconds between Norris and Sainz. Sainz continues to shadow Norris, closely followed by teammate Leclerc. However, the FIA chooses not to launch a formal investigation into Tsunoda.
Lap 18: Verstappen continues to stretch his lead, while the Ferraris close in on Norris, now within a second of the McLaren as the race enters its penultimate lap.
Final Lap: Sainz is right on Norris’ tail, with Leclerc just behind his teammate. At the first hairpin, Sainz makes his move, and a braking error from Norris allows the Ferrari driver to snatch second place! Piastri sets the fastest lap of the race with a 1’37″613. Norris attempts to retake the position but makes another mistake, while Leclerc tries to capitalise but overshoots his move.
Finish: Verstappen wins the United States Grand Prix Sprint, with Sainz in second and Norris completing the podium. Leclerc finishes fourth, followed by Russell and Hamilton, who are significantly behind the Ferraris. Magnussen and Hülkenberg score three points, propelling Haas to sixth in the standings thanks to their strong results.
Pérez finishes ninth ahead of Piastri, who holds on to tenth with a comfortable margin over Tsunoda. Colapinto takes 12th, followed by Stroll, Gasly, Ocon, Lawson, Albon, Alonso, Zhou, and Bottas.
| Pos. | Driver | Team | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull Honda RBPT RB20 | 19 Laps – 31m06.146s |
| 02 | Carlos Sainz | Ferrari SF-24 | +3.882 |
| 03 | Lando Norris | McLaren Mercedes MCL38 | +6.240 |
| 04 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari SF-24 | +6.956 |
| 05 | George Russell | Mercedes W15 | +15.766 |
| 06 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes W15 | +18.724 |
| 07 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas Ferrari VF-24 | +25.161 |
| 08 | Nico Hülkenberg | Haas Ferrari VF-24 | +26.588 |
| 09 | Sergio Pérez | Red Bull Honda RBPT RB20 | +29.950 |
| 10 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren Mercedes MCL38 | +37.059 |
| 11 | Yuki Tsunoda | RB Honda RBPT VCARB 01 | +38.363 |
| 12 | Franco Colapinto | Williams Mercedes FW46 | +39.460 |
| 13 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin Mercedes AMR24 | +41.236 |
| 14 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine Renault A524 | +41.995 |
| 15 | Esteban Ocon | Alpine Renault A524 | +42.804 |
| 16 | Liam Lawson | RB Honda RBPT VCARB 01 | +44.008 |
| 17 | Alex Albon | Williams Mercedes FW46 | +44.564 |
| 18 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin Mercedes AMR24 | +46.807 |
| 19 | Guanyu Zhou | Stake F1 Kick Sauber C44 | +52.842 |
| 20 | Valtteri Bottas | Stake F1 Kick Sauber C44 | +54.476 |
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Verstappen claims victory in the F1 Sprint at Austin Verstappen claims victory in the F1 Sprint at Austin Verstappen claims victory in the F1 Sprint at Austin
