Max Verstappen (Red Bull) won this Saturday the carrera sprint of the United States Grand Prix Formula 1. With the victory, the Dutchman cut ground on the McLaren by Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris, in the general classification.
Verstappenwho started from pole, dominated the race from start to finish and the British George Russell (Mercedes) and Spanish Carlos Sainz Jr (Williams) joined him on the podium.
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“I had a good start,” said Mad Max before also criticizing himself.
“After the safety car intervention, it took me a few laps to find my rhythm and I think we will have to be faster if we want to win the Grand Prix tomorrow“he admitted.
Verstappen closes the gap on the McLarens
This victory gives the Red Bull driver more hope in his mission to undertake a historic comeback in the last six races of the year and thus achieve his fifth world title in a row.
with the oeight points he added in the sprintthe Dutch (3rd with 281 points) approached 55 units of Oscar Piastri (1st with 336 points) already 33 from Lando Norris (2nd with 314 points).
The McLarens do not have a good time in the sprint
Unlike Max Verstappen, The McLarens did not do very well in the United States sprintas they retired on the first lap of the race.
Norris, who started in second place, could not overtake the Dutchman at the start while behind Piastri received a crash from Hülkenberg, when the experienced Sauber driver launched himself to avoid the McLarens in the first corner.
The impact sent the Australian’s car straight into that of his teammate.
In the violent impact, one of Norris’s rear wheels was torn off and rolled down the track in the middle of the group of drivers very dispersed by this incident.
Piastri tried to stay in the race but didn’t get very farsince its right front suspension was broken.
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The Spanish Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) was also involved in the incident and abandoned the race.
The mechanics of McLaren They had less than three hours to repair the cars, so that their drivers could participate, later, in the qualifying race for Sunday’s Grand Prix.