Verstappen Unstoppable in Sprint Dash

Saturday’s US Grand Prix at the Circuit of the Americas was all about the Sprint competition.  And the Sprint competition was all about Max Verstappen. 

The Dutchman led every segment of the Sprint Shootout qualifier to earn the pole position.  He then led the 100 km Sprint from start-to-finish with a time of (31:30.849).   Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton presented challenges early in the race, but were no real threat.   This was Verstappen’s third Sprint win this season, and it was the second time he led throughout. 

Lewis Hamilton, starting from the #3 grid position, earned the second podium position (+9.465s).   Hamilton’s performance was a positive reflection of the recent Mercedes equipment upgrades.  It was his best Sprint result since Silverstone in 2021, where he came second in the inaugural event.  It was also his his first top four in a Sprint this season.

Charles Leclerc started #2 on the grid, but settled for the final podium spot (+17.987s).  It was his best Sprint finish this season since finishing second in Baku. 

Leclerc challenged Verstappen from the starting line, entering Turn 1. 

“There was an opportunity, there was a gap and I tried, but obviously then it was tight and I lost the position to Lewis,” said Leclerc. 

Verstappen defended tightly, squeezing out Leclerc and forcing him into third place. 

“I guess Charles had a little bit of a better start, so I tried to make it as difficult as possible for him to get into Turn 1 and luckily, that worked out,” said Verstappen.  “It got quite close into Turn 1, but luckily Turn 1 is quite wide, so you can enter with a few cars if needed.” 

Hamilton threaten Verstappen for several laps in the DRS zone but was unable to sufficiently close the gap. 

“The car was feeling pretty good so I was just attacking from the get-go, trying to get as close as I could while the car felt like that,” said Hamilton. “I just couldn’t bridge the gap enough to Max. And then once I was out of his DRS, then he just started eking away and cruising.”

“It was always like eight, nine tenths for a few laps, but that was all controlled into the braking zone,” said Verstappen. “The DRS, with such big wings on this track, is quite powerful. Once I cleared the DRS, we all settled into our own rhythms, and I think the pace of the car was very good today.”