US Grand Prix LIVE: F1 race result and reaction tonight as Max Verstappen holds off Lewis Hamilton to win
Follow all the fallout from an exciting race in Austin, Texas
A thrilling Formula 1 title race between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen continued this evening as the United States Grand Prix played out in Austin, Texas.
Verstappen started in pole position at the Circuit of the Americas, with rival Hamilton joining him in the front row. Dutchman Verstappen entered the race leading the Briton by six points in the drivers’ standings and having reclaimed top spot in the championship battle at this month’s Turkish GP, and the Red Bull driver was able to take another step towards his first F1 title by emerging victorious here.
Although Verstappen was overtaken by Hamilton almost immediately after lights out, he regained first place when the Mercedes man made his first pit stop of the day. That moment even saw Verstappen gain a six-second lead on the defending champion, who spent the rest of the race trying to close down his rival. Hamilton could not erase the gap, however, as Verstappen crossed the line first to double his points advantage over the seven-time title-winner to 12 points with five races left this season. Hamilton came second, while Verstappen’s teammate Sergio Perez rounded out the podium places.
Follow all the fallout from the United States Grand Prix below.
US Grand Prix
Lap 31/56: A flurry of action in the pits! Perez, Sainz, Ricciardo and Norris have all pitted. That shakes things up a bit, with Leclerc now third, Bottas up to fifth, and Ricciardo ahead of Sainz in sixth. Norris is eighth.
US Grand Prix
Lap 30/56: Verstappen immediately overtakes Perez. He’s got 26 more laps, on a hot day, with his new tyres and there’s a 17-second gap to Hamilton.
US Grand Prix
Lap 29/56: Verstappen pits! The Dutchman was told to push on the last lap of those medium tyres. At 2.8 seconds, it’s slower than his first one and he comes out behind team-mate Perez in third.
“Target-plus-six,” is the Mercedes message to Hamilton.
US Grand Prix
Lap 28/56: Virtual safety car! It’s just a quick one though to clear up some debris. That hasn’t changed much. Actually, I take that back. Verstappen gained about half a second out of that brief VSC.
US Grand Prix
Lap 26/56: Hamilton is down to just 2.7 seconds now. There was a 0.6s difference in time on the last lap, and that’s been fairly consistent.
There’s all sorts of back and forth between Alonso and Giovinazzi. This time it’s the Italian who makes the pass before he is immediately told to give the place back.
Elsewhere, Vettel gets past Russell to take 13th.
US Grand Prix
Lap 24/56: Hamilton’s cut the gap down to 4.6 now. Hamilton’s tyres are three laps younger than Verstappen’s, so he’s probably able to be a bit more aggressive.
US Grand Prix
Lap 22/56: Further gains from Hamilton on the next lap, now down to 5.3 seconds. I would imagine that Hamilton and Verstappen have been told to manage their tyres until the second round of pit stops, which are expected to come at around lap 34-38.
US Grand Prix
Lap 21/56: Hamilton is cutting the gap to Verstappen, not by much, but gradually. It’s now down to 5.6 seconds.
Further back, there’s a good old battle between Alonso and Giovinazzi for 11th. Alonso took the place but ran wide and has been told to give the place back.
US Grand Prix
Lap 19/56: Bottas has worked his way back up to eighth after getting past Tsunoda. Norris is next for him, but the McLaren is well clear.
Confirmation that Gasly is out of the race.
US Grand Prix
Lap 18/56: Red Bull boss Christian Horner, speaking to Sky: “It was a shame about the start but we’ve got good pace and Max is doing well. It was a good [start] from Lewis and an average one from us. It’s like a game of chess this race. We’ll see how the strategies play out.”
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