Max wins sprint race in Austin: 'I could do my own race'

Published on 19 October 2024 by Kees-Jan Koster

Max Verstappen has won the sprint race in Austin. The Dutchman had a strong start and finished almost four seconds ahead of Carlos Sainz, who took second place. Third place went to Lando Norris, who began the race well but was overtaken in the final lap. Charles Leclerc was right behind the Brit but had to settle for fourth place. George Russell completed the top five in Texas.

"It has been a while since I crossed the finish line first. I am really happy about it. It feels a bit like old times," Max said with a smile after the race. "Overall, I think it went pretty well. I was able to attack more, which has not been the case for a while. So, I am very happy about that. The Ferraris were also very fast. But finally, we were racing again. Normally, we always were looking back behind us, but now we could do our own race. We had good pace. We just need to see how we can improve a bit more with the tires."

When asked how the car felt today, Max replied: "Overall, pretty good. But when you must push hard, the tyres always struggle in the race. That was the case again today."

With this victory, Max has won 11 out of a total of 16 sprint races. When asked how he has become such a sprint race expert, the Dutchman replied with a laugh: "Probably because I do not like it. It is always a hectic weekend like this. To get the car in the right window. But luckily, the few sprint races we had the car was in a good window. There is a bit more pressure, but luckily it is working out for us."

Max started the sprint race in Austin from pole position after a good sprint qualifying yesterday. Max's biggest competitor for the world title, Lando Norris, was not as comfortable and started from fourth position. During the warm-up lap, Lewis Hamilton reported that his car did not feel right, but his team responded that they saw nothing wrong in the data. When the lights went out, Max got off to a good start, maintaining the lead. Norris had an excellent start and moved into second place. The two Ferraris kept finding each other and battled it out. The positions kept changing, but in lap six, Sainz came out on top.

The Spaniard caught up with Russell and overtook the Mercedes driver after a strong overtaking move. Leclerc was close behind and overtook him a lap later. Russell reported over the radio that his left front tire was worn out. By lap 11, Max had a lead of over one and a half seconds on Norris. Race control gave Oscar Piastri a five-second penalty for forcing Pierre Gasly off the track during an overtaking move.

Sergio Pérez got into a battle with Yuki Tsunoda. The Japanese driver defended well, but the Mexican managed to pass him. Piastri then challenged Tsunoda, but initially, the RB driver managed to keep the door closed. However, he could not hold on and had to let the Australian through. Up front, Max extended his lead to 2.6 seconds. Just behind, Leclerc was trying until the end of the race to overtake his teammate. Norris threw away a valuable position in the last lap by locking up. Sainz immediately took advantage of the situation and claimed second place from the McLaren driver. Leclerc also saw an opportunity, and it almost went very wrong between the two. Leclerc nearly drove his Ferrari into the back of Norris' McLaren but managed to avoid a crash. The sprint race in Austin ended with Max as the winner, followed by Sainz and Norris. Leclerc and Russell completed the top five.

Contest United States GP: win a by Max Verstappen signed Red Bull Racing cap!

Results sprint race United States: