Verstappen eases to victory to take his third Sprint Race victory in 2023

Verstappen finished just under ten seconds ahead of Lewis Hamilton in P2, who overtook Charles Leclerc at the start, showing some good pace to stay ahead of the Ferarri. Leclerc stayed in P3 to round out the podium.

Verstappen takes another Sprint victory after close Sprint Shootout

In the penultimate Sprint weekend of the 2023 season, P1 to P4 were separated by just one second in what was a very tightly contested Sprint Shootout, which decided the grid for this Sprint Race at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas.

But as the sun shone down, Verstappen was unchallenged in his third Sprint Race success, leading front the front after getting a good launch and holding onto first place up the steep climb to turn one.

The Dutchman pushed Leclerc, who started in P2, as wide as he could up the start-finish straight hill, which compromised his first turn, giving Lewis Hamilton the speed to overtake him around the outside from P3, which the seven-time world champion did very nicely.

Leclerc held off a late challenge for P3 by Lando Norris, who gave within the one-second DRS gap as they crossed the line.

Norris was able to give McLaren a P4 finish behind the Monegasque driver, giving the Papaya-coloured team a good points haul for their constructors' challenge against Aston Martin.

Sergio Perez was able to move his way up to finish P5 as the chequered flag fell, with Carlos Sainz holding off George Russell to hold onto P6.

Russell's time penalty hampers his race

It was a tough day for Russell, who started in P8 after a poor performance in the Sprint Shootout.

The Brit managed to salvage his race, only dropping down one place to finish in P8, the final points-paid position after he was given a five-second time penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage while battling Oscar Piastri, who also had a very tricky Sprint Race finishing in 10th place.

The other points-paid position went to the Alpine of Pierre Gasly, who capped off a very positive Saturday for the French team with a P7 finish, handing him a couple of vital championship points.

There was only one retirement in the Sprint Race. The Aston Martin of Lance Stroll was the only retiree as the Canadian entered his pit box with just three laps to go.