Verstappen Surges to Commanding Victory in US GP Ahead of Norris and Leclerc
Max Verstappen claimed a dominant victory at the United States Grand Prix, the Red Bull driver converting pole position into a commanding win while Lando Norris beat Charles Leclerc to second place in a thrilling duel between the pair.
It had been a strong start to the race for Verstappen, the Dutchman holding the lead from pole position while the rest of the field got through Turn 1 much more cleanly than during Saturday’s action-packed Sprint.
Though questions remained in the early stages over strategy choices, all of the field opted for a one-stop plan – and this worked smoothly for Verstappen, who remained in P1 after his stop. And while he had to nurse his soft tyres home in the latter stages, the reigning World Champion crossed the line with a margin of 7.959s to seal his fifth Grand Prix triumph of the season.
Behind him, a close fight played out between Norris and Leclerc, a scrap that firstly unfolded in the early stages after Leclerc got ahead of the McLaren at the start. With the two going head-to-head again in the final laps, Norris eventually made a move stick to take a valuable P2, leaving Leclerc to round out the podium in third.
Lewis Hamilton added to Ferrari’s points haul in fourth place – a position he just held onto despite seemingly suffering a puncture on the final lap – while championship leader Oscar Piastri brought a tough weekend to an end by taking fifth.
Mercedes’ George Russell followed in sixth, ahead of Red Bull’s Yuki Tsunoda and the Kick Sauber of Nico Hulkenberg. Ollie Bearman scored points on Haas’ home soil in P9, with Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso completing the top 10.
Liam Lawson just missed out on points for Racing Bulls in 11th, as did the Aston Martin of Lance Stroll in 12th. Kimi Antonelli embarked on a recovery drive to 13th, the Mercedes driver having dropped backwards early on in the race following a collision with Williams’ Carlos Sainz.
The other Williams of Alex Albon claimed P14, followed by Haas’ Esteban Ocon (P15) and Racing Bulls’ Isack Hadjar (P16). Franco Colapinto took P17 for Alpine – after ignoring a team order to hold position behind team mate Pierre Gasly – while Kick Sauber’s Gabriel Bortoleto was sandwiched between them in P18.
Sainz was the only retiree of the day, having pulled off track following his aforementioned clash with Antonelli. And in terms of the standings after the race in Austin, Verstappen is now just 40 points away from Piastri in the Drivers’ Championship, while Norris is only 14 points adrift of his team mate.
