Max Verstappen claims F1 sprint race victory at United States Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton finishes third

Max Verstappen claimed victory in the sprint race at the United States Grand Prix on Saturday evening, leading from start to finish after qualifying on pole.

It was the Dutchman's third sprint race victory of the season and came two weeks after claiming a third consecutive Formula One World Drivers' Championship.

Verstappen failed to qualify fastest for the main race but responded with an excellent qualifying run for the 19-lap sprint.

The Red Bull driver managed to resist the fast finishing Charles Leclerc, holding the Ferrari driver off on the first corner and pulling ahead of Lewis Hamilton.

The Mercedes driver had moved into second place, but could not overhaul his Dutch rival.

Hamilton, third in the overall standings, needs points to catch Sergio Perez over the final five races of the season.

Mercedes' latest car upgrades helped Hamilton stay close to Verstappen early before falling away.

After the race, Verstappen spoke matter-of-factly.

He said: “The pace has been always there, just unfortunate with a track limits in the first qualifying. But today has been pretty straightforward. I think the only thing was lap one, turn one to try and stay ahead, but after that I think we just settled in nicely after a few laps. At one point I could just look after my tyres till the end and have a bit of fun at the end trying to push a bit more."

Continuing, Verstappen explained why Hamilton wasn't able to stay the pace.

He said: “It was always like eight, nine tenths for a few laps, but that was all controlled into the braking zone. The DRS, with such big wings on this track, is quite powerful. Once I cleared the DRS, we all settled into our own rhythms, and I think the pace of the car was very good today.”

Verstappen starts from sixth on Sunday as he goes in search of a record-equalling 15th win of the season.

Asked whether victory in the sprint would give him confidence to chase the Grand Prix victory, Verstappen was positive but realistic.

He said: “I’m definitely going to try. It’s five cars to pass which is never straightforward. But with the pace I think we had today, hopefully with more fuel in the car tomorrow it will be even better. We will find out tomorrow but for sure this was a very positive day for us and hopefully we show something similar out there tomorrow.”

Austin has been kind to Verstappen in the past, with the world champion winning in each of the last two races.

The winner at the Circuit of the Americas hasn't come from behind the front row since 2012, but Verstappen has won from the sixth and ninth positions in Belgium and Miami earlier this season.

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