The first win since June. Max Verstappen is getting closer to his old strength in the Red Bull. But the main race in Austin is yet to come. It happens in quick succession.
Max Verstappen has ended his unusual winless period in Formula 1. The three-time Formula 1 world champion celebrated his first success in the Austin sprint race since his Grand Prix win in Barcelona on June 23rd. In the World Championship fight, he didn’t lose any points against his pursuer Lando Norris in the Red Bull for the first time since the Belgian Grand Prix. “It wasn’t that bad. It felt a bit like old times. We finally ran a real race again.”
Instead, he increased the lead over the McLaren driver by two points to 54 points. But that could change this Sunday (9 p.m./Sky) in the main race with the US Grand Prix. The starting points for this will be rolled out around midnight in Germany.
Norris made it to third place in the sprint and was overtaken by Carlos Sainz in the Ferrari on the last lap. “To be honest, I’m quite happy,” said Norris, whose tires were completely worn out: “We lacked a bit of pace compared to Max and the Ferraris.”
Charles Leclerc finished fourth in the Scuderia’s second car ahead of the two Mercedes drivers George Russell and Lewis Hamilton. Nico Hülkenberg made it to eighth place in the Haas and got another point for it.
The Red Bull is getting faster again
It was already apparent in the first and only free practice session: the innovations and changes to Verstappen’s RB 20 are paying off for the time being. The pole for the sprint race was the first proof. The 27-year-old Dutchman took second place over the 19 laps.
When the red lights went out, Verstappen defended his starting position. And that’s not easy at the Circuit of the Americas. It goes straight uphill, then there is a left bend and it goes downhill again. Particularly advantageous for the person in second starting position, in this case Russell.
The Mercedes driver, whom Verstappen had beaten by 12 thousandths of a second in the sprint qualification, had no chance. Verstappen immediately moved to the inside and ahead of the Brit in the Mercedes into the first corner. Behind him, his World Cup rival Norris did extremely well.
Norris brakes on the last lap
Otherwise often with starting difficulties, the 24-year-old McLaren driver gained two places and moved up to second place. Instead of being able to attack Verstappen, Norris first had to defend himself against Russell, who then had problems with the tires and fell back. At the front, Verstappen drove quite confidently towards his fourth sprint victory in the fourth sprint race of this year, while Norris made a braking error shortly before the end and had to let Sainz pass.
Source: Stern
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