Max Verstappen ends frustrating run with sprint success in Texas

   

Max Verstappen ended his winless run to convert his pole position into victory at Saturday’s sprint race in the United States and extend his championship lead over Lando Norris by two points.

Verstappen led from start to finish to take the chequered flag 3.8 seconds clear of Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz, who moved past Norris on the final lap.

Norris hung on to third, one place ahead of Charles Leclerc. George Russell started second but finished only fifth. Lewis Hamilton was sixth in the other Mercedes.

Prior to Saturday’s fixture at a sun-cooked Circuit of the Americas, Verstappen had not won in his last eight appearances. However, the Dutch driver was back to his all-conquering best in Texas by sealing a fine win to increase his title lead from 52 points to 54 ahead of qualifying to determine the grid for Sunday’s main event.

There are 172 points still remaining across the concluding six rounds.

Norris might have feared the worst after he qualified fourth for Saturday’s 19-lap dash to the flag.

Starts have not been his forte this season but the championship contender nailed his getaway here to move up from fourth to second at the opening corner.

Verstappen bolted to his left to cover off Russell on the uphill charge to the first bend while Norris hugged the apex to cruise past Leclerc and draw alongside Russell.

Norris then held his nerve to fight his way clear of Russell through the ensuing series of fast-sweeping jinks, with Verstappen now in clear sight.

However, Red Bull have brought an upgrade to the first of the remaining six rounds and Norris, who won so impressively at the previous race in Singapore, was unable to match Verstappen’s speed.

Indeed, on lap six, he came under pressure from Russell before managing to keep his compatriot behind.

At that stage, Russell would have harboured ambitions of a podium finish but his race unravelled on lap 10 when he lost out to Sainz, and then Leclerc, to drop to fifth – the British driver complaining his front-left tyre was “toast”.

Back at the front and McLaren were hopeful Norris could yet launch an assault on his title rival.

“Verstappen is potentially damaging his rear tyres a bit more than we are,” was the message from Norris’s race engineer Will Joseph.

But Norris never got near to Verstappen and then, under pressure from Sainz, carried too much speed into the first corner on the last lap to allow the Spaniard to sneak past, losing another point to Verstappen in his bid to dethrone the Red Bull man.

On a tense final lap, Leclerc came within centimetres of taking Norris out after he lost control of his Ferrari as he complained the British driver moved under braking.

Both drivers survived to fight another day, but it was Verstappen who was the man smiling at the end as he claimed his first win of any sort since the Spanish Grand Prix on June 23.