Max Verstappen won the United States Grand Prix 2023 Sprint race on Saturday to take his season's points tally to 441 on Saturday, October 21. The Red Bull Racing continued his sensational run with eight points in a sprint but faces a tough challenge for the podium for the main race on Sunday.
Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc took the pole for the Sunday race having finished ahead of Lewis Hamilton and Lando Norris in the Qualifying. Verstappen starts the race from the sixth position and it will be interesting to see whether he makes the podium at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin.
Verstappen started the Sprint from pole but he faced tough competition from Leclerc in the opening lap. Ferrari driver failed to keep up with the Dutchman and also lost the second spot to seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton. In-from McLaren's driver Lando Norris, finished fourth ahead of veterans Carlos Sainz and Sergio Perez.
United States Grand Prix 2023 Sprint race:
| Position | Driver | Time | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Max Verstappen | 31:30:84s | 8 |
| 2 | Lewis Hamilton | +9.46 | 7 |
| 3 | Charles Leclerc | +17.98 | 6 |
| 4 | Lando Norris | +18.86 | 5 |
| 5 | Sergio Perez | +22.92 | 4 |
| 6 | Carlos Sainz | +28.30 | 3 |
| 7 | Pierre Gasly | +32.40 | 2 |
| 8 | George Russell | +34.25 | 1 |
Verstappen talked about a tough challenge from Leclerc in the Sprint race and also talked about a potential faceoff with the Monegasque driver on Sunday.
“We had a strong day out there today," Verstappen said after winning the Sprint race. "It was quite tight at the start with Charles but after that, we could focus on our own race. The pace of the car was really good, a bit better than we expected, and we looked after our tyres quite well. Starting in P6 tomorrow will be interesting, we'll try and stay out of trouble on the first lap and then we'll take it step by step making our way through the field. Hopefully, we can have some fun out there tomorrow."
