Max Verstappen wins Austin sprint to extend lead over Lando Norris

Max Verstappen extended his lead over title rival Lando Norris by two points after securing victory at Saturday’s U.S. Grand Prix sprint race while the McLaren driver finished third.

Victory in the 19-lap race, which serves as a taster for Sunday’s full-length grand prix, marked Verstappen’s first win in an F1 race since the Austrian Grand Prix July, albeit with a reward of just eight championship points due to the shortened format.

Verstappen said afterwards: “I’m happy, it’s been quite a few races where it was more like just looking behind, never really being able to attack. And then now, finally, the car definitely had just more performance. I could push a bit harder. So, very happy with today. I mean, looking at the whole race, I think Ferrari was also very quick.

“It just feels a bit more together. And I think that is what we have been lacking. I mean, over one lap, you can mask a lot of issues.”

After starting fourth on the grid, Norris was up to second by Turn 2 but lost a place to Carlos Sainz on the final lap as the Ferrari driver charged through the field from fifth on the grid.

Norris said afterwards: “I’m happy with the race result and a good amount of points. There has been a few races where the starts were bad and today was good with a good first corner. I did the most I could, I didn’t think I had the pace on Max or the Ferraris.”

The gap between the Verstappen and Norris in the standings now sits at 54 points, with the potential for a much bigger points swing in Sunday’s U.S. Grand Prix that offers full points for the top 10 finishers.

After this weekend’s U.S. Grand Prix, five races will remain on the 2024 schedule.

Verstappen finished the sprint race 3.8 seconds clear of Sainz in second and his lead never looked under threat from lights to flag.

The two Ferraris matched his pace for much of the race, but after a scrap between themselves for fourth place in the opening laps they lost crucial time to mount a challenge to the Red Bull.

Sainz passed teammate Charles Leclerc on Lap 5 and then moved past George Russell on Lap 9 before taking second place from Norris on the final lap.

Sainz said on his late move for second: “Towards the end I started to struggle with the tyres but I saw Lando also struggling. I saw that if I could get into DRS I would have my chance to finish in P2. And we made it stick into Turn 1 and the end was a fun one.”

Leclerc also came close to passing Norris for third, but defensive positioning from the McLaren in the final sector of the final lap of the race kept the second Ferrari at bay.

Russell finished the race in fifth place ahead of Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton and the two Haas drivers of Kevin Magnussen and Nico Hulkenberg, who secured the final points on offer.