F1: Verstappen flies through the sprint in the United States

Triple world champion Max Verstappen (Red Bull) won the race. without trembling the sprint race of the Formula 1 United States Grand Prix, Saturday on the Circuit of the Americas in London. Austin.

The Dutchman, who started from pole position, beat the Briton Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) and the Monegasque Charles Leclerc (Ferrari).

The day after his disappointing sixth place during qualifying for the Grand Prix , Verstappen took his revenge on Saturday by taking pole and victory during the penultimate sprint of the season, which he flew from start to finish.

He first succeeded in his start by repelling Leclerc's attack well before the first corner, before irremediably widening the gap on his pursuers.

Max Verstappen's single-seater during the sprint race of the United States F1 GP, October 21, 2023 in Austin © AFP – Jim WATSON

“It was a bit tight at the first corner, but we left ourselves enough room and after that I was able to run my race. The pace of the car was very good today and I will need it tomorrow (Sunday ) starting from sixth place because I also want to win the Grand Prix,” said the Dutchman.

– Hamilton gets closer to Pérez –

Hamilton, who finished more by nine seconds at the end of the 19 laps of the race, however, fulfilled his objective of the day by taking three points from the Mexican Sergio Pérez, fifth on Saturday, in the battle for second place in the championship.

Lewis Hamilton after the sprint race at the United States F1 GP, October 21, 2023 in Austin © AFP – Chandan Khanna

“It was a fun race. I had a good start and it was a great battle with Charles (Leclerc). I tried to hang on to Max (Verstappen) but his pace was just incredible. However, I am very happy with this result,” said the seven-time champion. world, which is now 27 lengths behind Pérez.

Leclerc, who had won pole position for the Grand Prix on Friday and almost did it again on Saturday, finally started second and quickly fell back one place after trying to attack Verstappen at the start of the race. The Monegasque, however, secured his place on the podium by resisting the return of the McLaren of Briton Lando Norris.

“There was a small opportunity, I tried to pass. Lewis (Hamilton) took advantage of it but anyway he was a little faster than us today. We will analyze the race data carefully and I hope we can win the Grand Prix tomorrow (Sunday)”, explained the Ferrari driver.

– Russell penalized, Gasly takes advantage –

The single-seater of Frenchman Pierre Gasly during the sprint race of United States GP, October 21, 2023 in Austin © AFP – Chandan Khanna

Spaniard Carlos Sainz took sixth place for the Scuderia after fending off the attacks of George Russell (Mercedes). The Briton, who crossed the line in seventh position, however finished eighth after receiving a five-second penalty for overtaking outside the limits of the track.

Pierre Gasly (Alpine) took advantage windfall to climb to seventh place and score two points in the championship.

“I had to manage to pass the Williams at the start, which I did. Then I managed to stay aggressive and make a nice overtake on (Oscar) Piastri. Then it wasn't easy, there was a lot of degradation in terms of tires but I was able to stay quite close to Russell”, declared the Frenchman on Canal+.

His teammate and compatriot, finished in eleventh place at the the end of a frustrating race. “I made a good start by gaining a few places, but after that it lacked rhythm. We lacked speed, we were slow from start to finish, cursed the Norman. I hope that tomorrow will be another day. “

Sunday during the Grand Prix, which will begin at 2:00 p.m. local time (9:00 p.m. French), Max Verstappen will start in sixth position and will attempt to make another comeback to achieve the 50th success of his career. But he will have a hard time facing Ferrari, Mercedes and McLaren who will try to prevent him from achieving new success.

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