Austin qualifying

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen took his first Formula 1 victory for nearly four months with a controlled drive in the sprint race at the United States Grand Prix. Verstappen’s win extends his championship lead over McLaren’s Lando Norris to 54 points. Norris was running second going into the final lap but a lock-up at the first corner allowed Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz to slip by in Austin, Texas.

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen took pole for the sprint race at the United States Grand Prix, with title rival Lando Norris fourth in his McLaren. Verstappen, who heads Norris by 52 points with six races to go, pipped Mercedes driver George Russell to pole position by 0.012 seconds. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc was third fastest, 0.226secs slower than Verstappen, and Norris was 0.250secs off the pace in fourth.