Formula 1: Verstappen victorious in Austin Sprint Shootout

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AUSTIN, TEXAS – OCTOBER 19: Max Verstappen of the Netherlands driving the (1) Oracle Red Bull Racing RB20 leads Lando Norris of Great Britain driving the (4) McLaren MCL38 Mercedes on the first lap during the Sprint ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of United States at Circuit of The Americas on October 19, 2024 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images) // Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool // SI202410190713 // Usage for editorial use only //

It was a lights to flag victory for Max Verstappen this afternoon at Circuit of the Americas as the championship leader returned to his winning ways in 2024, maintaining his perfect form in the 2024 Sprint Shootouts and extending his lead over rival Lando Norris.

Norris, who started forth, leapt to second place on the first lap as he took advantage of a squabble between George Russell and Charles LeClerc as he looked to challenge Verstappen for the win, but ultimately fell back and was unable to make up ground to the Red Bull. Then, on the final lap, a mistake by the McLaren driver allowed the Ferrari of Carlos Sainz to make his move in turn one, overtaking Norris and nearly dragging teammate LeClerc with him.

SPRINT START: Watch the opening lap from the Sprint in Austin as Verstappen defends the lead while Norris leaps up to second

Charles LeClerc nearly found himself in trouble on that final alp as well as he attempted to overtake Norris in turns fourteen and fifteen as the Ferrari driver slammed on the brakes to avoid a collision with Norris who was aggressively defending his top 3 position.

George Russell and teammate Lewis Hamilton had a lackluster sprint as both drivers finished inside the top-6, with Russell fading from second on the grid to finish fifth. Meanwhile, in front of the home crowd, the Haas duo of Magnussen and Hulkenberg rounded out the final points positions, finishing seventh and eighth in the best sprint finish for the team in 2024.

All attention now turns to the race qualifying session this evening as teams and drivers switch their program for Sunday’s United States Grand Prix. Tune in this evening at 17:00 local time for all the action live on your local streaming network and check back here for continued coverage of Formula 1 in Texas.

Free Practice 1 Report – CLICK HERE

Sprint Qualifying Report – CLICK HERE

FORMULA 1 PIRELLI UNITED STATES GRAND PRIX 2024 Schedule

DateSessionTime (Local Circuit)
Oct. 18thPractice 112:30 – 13:30
Sprint Qualifying16:30 – 17:14
Oct. 19thSprint13:00 – 14:00
Qualifying17:00 – 18:00
Oct. 20thRace14:00

Sprint Shootout Results:

Pos

No

Driver

Laps

Time/retired

Pts

1

1

 Verstappen

19

31:06.146

8

2

55

 Sainz

19

+3.882s

7

3

4

 Norris

19

+6.240s

6

4

16

 Leclerc

19

+6.956s

5

5

63

 Russell

19

+15.766s

4

6

44

 Hamilton

19

+18.724s

3

7

20

 Magnussen

19

+25.161s

2

8

27

 Hulkenberg

19

+26.588s

1

9

11

 Perez

19

+29.950s

0

10

81

 Piastri

19

+37.059s

0

11

22

 Tsunoda

19

+38.363s

0

12

43

 Colapinto

19

+39.460s

0

13

18

 Stroll

19

+41.236s

0

14

10

 Gasly

19

+41.995s

0

15

31

 Ocon

19

+42.804s

0

16

30

 Lawson

19

+44.008s

0

17

23

 Albon

19

+44.564s

0

18

14

 Alonso

19

+46.807s

0

19

24

Zhou

19

+52.842s

0

20

77

 Bottas

19

+54.476s

0