Max Verstappen wins third Sprint race of 2023, Hamilton finishes second after overtaking Leclerc on the first lap.
Max Verstappen won his third Sprint race this season at the United States Grand Prix, holding off Lewis Hamilton’s early challenge.
Red Bull’s Verstappen won the race, leading from start to finish. This victory was his third consecutive win, making him the first driver to achieve such a feat in a season.
Hamilton was given the benefit of the doubt by the stewards. He ran off track while overtaking Charles Leclerc from Ferrari on the first lap. Hamilton then started putting pressure on Verstappen in the early part of the race.
The Dutch driver moved ahead of his competitors during the race and created a nine-second advantage. This indicates that he has a good chance of winning the Grand Prix on Sunday, even though he started in sixth place.
Leclerc will start in the first position on Sunday. He finished eight seconds after Hamilton, which indicates that Ferrari will have a difficult afternoon.
After start, Lando Norris managed to recover and return to the fourth position. He demonstrated impressive speed towards the end, suggesting that he, along with Hamilton, will probably be the main contenders against Verstappen on Sunday. They will start from second and third place, respectively.
Verstappen’s teammate Sergio Perez went from 7th place to finish 5th in the race. However, he lost some points compared to Hamilton in the drivers’ standings as he tries to maintain his second position and help Red Bull achieve their first-ever one-two finish.
Carlos Sainz used soft tires instead of the medium ones and gained two positions at the start. However, he finished the race in sixth place, which is where he started.
Pierre Gasly finished in seventh place for Alpine. George Russell claimed the final point for Mercedes, despite receiving a five-second time penalty for going off track while overtaking 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
“It (the start) was quite tight,” Verstappen said. “Luckily there was a lot of space going into Turn 1, so that helps.
“After that we could do our own race and control the pace a bit. Had a bit of fun at the end, pushing a bit more.
“The DRS with such big wings on this track, it’s quite powerful. Once I cleared the DRS we all settled in our own rhythm and I think the pace of our car was very good.”
Verstappen’s lead over Perez in the drivers standings increases to 213 points. This Sunday, the 26-year-old will have the chance to match his 2022 record of 15 victories in a season and surpass his points total from last year.
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