Max Verstappen holds off a charging Lewis Hamilton to claim his 50th Formula 1 victory before the Mercedes driver is disqualified from second place.

Max Verstappen won the United States Grand Prix after holding off Lewis Hamilton's late charge, but Hamilton was later disqualified from second place after his car failed a post-race scrutineering check.

Hamilton finished right on Verstappen's tail at the finish line, but his runner-up finish was stripped away in the hours following the race when the skid blocks beneath his Mercedes were discovered to be too thin, in violation of F1's technical regulations.

Charles Leclerc's Ferrari failed the same post-race test, and he was disqualified as well, dropping out from sixth place.

Lando Norris of McLaren had finished third on the road but was promoted to second following Hamilton's exclusion, with Carlos Sainz of Ferrari moving into third.

Earlier in the race, Verstappen, who has already won his third consecutive drivers' title with five rounds remaining, appeared to be on his way to victory after charging from sixth on the grid to take the lead midway through the race.

However, apparent braking issues on Verstappen's Red Bull left him agitated and vulnerable as Mercedes' Hamilton closed to within two seconds in the closing stages, but the Dutchman held on for his 50th F1 victory.

Hamilton had already passed Norris' McLaren, which faded in the second half of the race after taking the lead on the first lap to boost his chances of a first F1 victory in his 100th race.

Sainz finished fourth for Ferrari, which later became the final podium spot, after he and Red Bull's Sergio Perez made late passes on pole-sitter Leclerc, who dropped back after the Italian team attempted an ill-advised one-stop strategy.

George Russell finished seventh after failing to match teammate Hamilton's pace after starting from fifth on the grid. However, due to the two disqualifications, he was later promoted to fifth place.

Pierre Gasly finished sixth after an improved performance from Alpine, but teammate Esteban Ocon and McLaren's Oscar Piastri were both forced out of the race after a first-lap collision.

Lance Stroll earned his first Grand Prix points finish since July after Aston Martin teammate Fernando Alonso was forced to retire with floor damage, while Yuki Tsunoda doubled his tally for the day with the fastest lap of the race.

However, Hamilton and Leclerc's late-night disqualifications moved everyone else up two places and promoted both Williams drivers from 11th and 12th to the points-paying top ten.

Alex Albon's ninth place and Logan Sargeant's tenth place gave the team its first double top-10 finish since Belgium 2021. Even more importantly for Sargeant, it was his first point in F1 on his home grand prix weekend.

Verstappen's victory brings him to 466 points for the season, breaking his own record set last year, with the Dutchman poised to rewrite the sport's history books over the remaining four rounds.

SportsLigue