United States Grand Prix – Sprint Race: Max Verstappen supreme

For the Sprint race, clouds have made their appearance above the Austin circuit but the temperature remained at 33°C.

The start was very close between Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc, with the Red Bull driver leaving the minimum possible space for the Monegasque. As a result, it was Lewis Hamilton who took advantage to snatch second place since the Briton was better placed at the exit of the turn. The Mercedes driver managed to maintain pressure on the world champion early in the race but ended the race nine seconds behind the winner but as far ahead of the Ferrari.

Carlos Sainz was the only one who made the choice to switch to soft tires, compared to mediums for everyone else. The Spaniard initially took advantage of this to move up from sixth place on the grid to fourth. But he then couldn’t resist Lando Norris and then Sergio Perez until the end. After a good battle, he still managed to resist Georges Russell.

Already punished for having hindered Charles Leclerc during the shootout, the latter was again penalized for having overtaken Oscar Piastri off the track. Instead of the seventh place achieved on the track, he ended up eighth, to the benefit of Pierre Gasly’s Alpine. It should be noted that it was the Frenchman who had reported him to the radio to signal to the commissioners.

The only abandonment of this Sprint is credited to Lance Stroll, who once again had brake problems on the 17th lap, as this was the case during yesterday morning’s free practice.

From our special correspondent in Austin

The ranking of the sprint race of the USA Grand Prix F1 2023