MAX WINNER OF THE AUSTIN SPRINT

Max Verstappen dominated the American Grand Prix Sprint, holding the lead from the first corner until the very end of the 19 laps, showing that tomorrow's race will be interesting for him with a P6 start.

Lewis Hamilton looked to be on a good pace but had to settle for second, ahead of Charles Leclerc, Lando Norris and Sergio Perez.

In the opening laps, the Briton was close to Verstappen, but the Dutchman set a pace that was hard to match for the Mercedes AMG car, running away by almost 10 seconds in just 19 laps.

Charles Leclerc and Ferrari were powerless to fight for second place, and third place was in question if we had a few more laps to go, so Lando Norris had to settle for fourth place, ahead of Sergio Perez, in the second Red Bull car.

Carlos Sainz Jr. was the only driver with a different strategy on the grid, everyone started on yellows, only he on the red soft tires, which were known not to last the whole sprint at a competitive pace.

He managed to hold off the attacks of George Russell for 6th place, but probably the Briton because of the 5 second penalty and was in no mood to attack with extra risk, knowing that he would lose the place he gained again.

Russell also lost the 7th place to the cheerful Pierre Gasly with the Alpine car on the green table, and Alex Albon was only three tenths short of getting the last point for the 8th place.