RACE REPORT | F1 USA 2023

Max Verstappen triumphed at the US Grand Prix to claim his 50th victory in Formula 1. The 26-year-old Red Bull driver beat his main rival, Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton, by 2.225 seconds. McLaren's Lando Norris finished third, his 100th championship start. Hamilton, however, was unable to celebrate his second place because he was disqualified due to car problems, and the same fate befell sixth-placed Charles Leclerc.

Max Verstappen, a three-time world champion, claimed his third consecutive victory in Austin, equalling his own record from last year with 15 wins this season. He also followed up his triumph in the previous sprint race and has dominated 13 of the last 14 main events. With this result, Max Verstappen became only the fifth driver in history to reach 50 Formula One victories, bringing him closer to the famous Frenchman Alain Prost, who has 51 triumphs to his name.

Ferrari's Charles Leclerc started the race from first place but quickly lost track position. Lando Norris overtook him at the start and later Lewis Hamilton did the same. Max Verstappen, after starting from sixth place, quickly moved two places ahead to take third. During the race, from lap 17 onwards, the front runners began to make pit stops for new tyres. Verstappen had opted for a medium compound and it was clear he was planning one more stop. Lando Norris chose the hard tyres. Only Lewis Hamilton remained on track, but he was having increasing problems with grip. Mercedes pulled him into the pits on lap 20 and returned him to the track behind Verstappen.

On lap 28, Max Verstappen attacked Lando Norris and took the lead. Norris was quickly losing ground to Verstappen and seven laps later he pitted for new tires for the second time. Verstappen and Hamilton did the same shortly afterwards. With ten laps to go, the gap between the top three drivers was just six seconds. Verstappen reported brake problems to his mechanics and asked them not to disturb him when he braked.

With seven laps to go, Lewis Hamilton moved into second place and began to close the gap on Max Verstappen. He even closed to within less than two seconds at the end. However, Max Verstappen held off the pressure and held the lead to the finish. The World Championship continues next week with the Mexican Grand Prix.