Max Verstappen has won the United States Grand Prix for the fourth time in his career. This means the Dutchman is once again gaining points on McLaren drivers Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris in the battle for the world title.
Verstappen has closed the gap to leader Piastri in the World Championship standings by fifteen points, who missed out on a podium finish in fifth place. Norris finished second, seven points behind Verstappen.
On Saturday, Verstappen had already gained eight points on the McLaren drivers by winning the sprint race, where Piastri and Norris retired after colliding in the first corner.
Verstappen now trails World Championship leader Piastri by 40 points. Norris is 26 points ahead of the Red Bull driver in the standings.
Verstappen had an excellent start in Austin and managed to maintain the lead. Behind the Dutchman, Charles Leclerc in his Ferrari took over second place from Norris. It quickly became apparent that the Briton had more speed than Leclerc, but the Monegasque held off his pursuer for a long time during several intense battles.
Norris couldn’t show his true speed, allowing Verstappen to build a lead of several seconds. Finally, on lap 21, Norris rejoined in second place, and by then he was more than ten seconds behind Verstappen.
The Dutchman had complete control of the race from the first lap. He made his first and only pit stop of the race on lap 33, switching from the medium tires to the softs.
Duel Norris – Leclerc
Because Leclerc pitted much earlier than Norris, the Ferrari driver rejoined his English rival after the pit stops. However, Norris had softer rubber on his car, which created a significant speed difference. But Leclerc held his own again. After briefly gaining a lead, the Mongasque driver’s lead over Norris quickly diminished in the closing stages.
Finally, Norris managed to mount several attacks on lap 51. On his first attempt, the McLaren driver overshot the first corner, but he still managed to overtake Leclerc on the long straight.
At the front of the field, Verstappen remained in control. His lead over Leclerc and Norris never dropped below six seconds, so the Dutchman’s victory was never in jeopardy. With his victory, he capped off a fantastic weekend.
