Verstappen dominates to beat Hamilton and Leclerc to victory in Austin Sprint
After an early challenge from Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton, Red Bull's triple Formula One world champion Max Verstappen won a U.S. Grand Prix sprint race from pole position on Saturday.
In the 19-lap stand-alone race at Austin's Circuit of the Americas, the Dutch 26-year-old finished 9.465 seconds ahead of Hamilton, who seized second at the start and gave chase before dropping back.
Ferrari's Charles Leclerc finished third after being passed by Hamilton at the start of a race that awarded points to the top eight finishers.
The main event at the Texas track takes place on Sunday, with Leclerc starting on pole and Verstappen starting from sixth on the grid.
A front row starter has always won in Austin, but it would not be surprising if Verstappen proves to be an exception.
"Starting P6 is going to be a bit different than today, ...but it makes it interesting and hopefully we can have a bit of fun out there tomorrow." said Verstappen who dominated the race from start to finish, extending his unassailable championship lead to 213 points.
Red Bull and Verstappen have already secured both the constructors' and drivers' world championships with several races remaining. This year, Red Bull has also won 16 of 17 races.
Verstappen aggressively cut Leclerc towards the pitlane exit on the opening uphill run to turn one, forcing Hamilton wide over the kerbs but passing the Ferrari around the outside.
Verstappen and 2021 title rival Hamilton ran close enough in the early laps for the Briton to benefit from drag reduction and perhaps dream of a first win of any kind in two years.
The Red Bull then pulled away, and the game was over.
"It was quite tight but luckily there is a lot of space going into Turn One, so that definitely helps," said Verstappen, the first driver to win three sprint races in the same season.
"After that we could do our own race, control the pace a bit. I had a bit of fun at the end, pushing a bit more."
Lando Norris of McLaren finished fourth, just missing out on passing Leclerc but with the points leaving his team only six points behind fourth-placed Aston Martin and looking likely to overtake them on Sunday.
Sergio Perez of Red Bull finished fifth, losing more ground to Hamilton in the battle for second overall in the championship, and Carlos Sainz of Ferrari finished sixth, the only driver starting on the faster but less durable soft tyres. On the first lap, Sainz passed both McLarens, but his tyres faded.
Pierre Gasly was seventh for Renault-owned Alpine after Mercedes' George Russell was penalized five seconds and demoted to eighth for leaving the track and gaining an advantage.
Williams Alex Albon finished ninth, just missing out on a point, and McLaren's Oscar Piastri, the previous sprint winner in Qatar, finished tenth.
Daniel Ricciardo finished 12th for AlphaTauri after missing five races due to a broken hand.
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