It was only last weekend that Austin, Texas was hosting the return of F1 action after almost four weeks on the sidelines — the first race of a triple-header that ends in Brazil next weekend.
It started in ominous fashion, with Red Bull’s upgrades delivering a dominant sprint race victory for Max Verstappen. It was his first F1 win of any kind in 112 days.
But that pace didn’t quite carry on into the grand prix sessions.
Firstly, Lando Norris delivered a stunning lap in an aborted Q3 to claim pole for McLaren — before Ferrari’s pace took the race by storm as Charles Leclerc blitzed his third victory of the year, with outgoing teammate Carlos Sainz just behind.
The rest of the fun was saved for Norris and Verstappen, whose lengthy sparring ended with Norris’ late overtake of the Dutchman while both cars exceeded track limits.
Verstappen picked up a warning, Norris got a five-second penalty for not handing the position back and it was Red Bull who could celebrate the final podium spot.
