Max Verstappen finishes third in United States Grand Prix; race won by Charles Leclerc

Max Verstappen finished third in the United States Grand Prix in Austin, Texas, on Sunday after a hectic final battle with Lando Norris of McLaren. Norris actually finished in third position but was then given a time penalty for exceeding his track limits, resulting in Verstappen retaking third spot. These points could prove to be vital for the F1 championship, as Norris is in second place. The race was won by Charles Leclerc of Ferrari.

A lot will be spoken about the controversial end to the race. The controversy was already raging in the final few laps when a fantastic battle between Verstappen and Norris resulted in Norris going past the reigning champion. However, Verstappen claimed that Norris had done this by going off the track and, therefore should have given the spot back. McLaren believed Norris was ahead before going off the track and, therefore told him to keep the position. This all meant nothing in the end as the time penalty gave Verstappen the third place.

Verstappen started the race in second as Norris just pipped him to pole position after the qualifying session on Saturday. This meant little as Norris lost the first position on the first corner as has been the case for nearly all of the races that he has started first in during this season. But this did not lead to Verstappen taking the first spot either. The two battled in the first corner, and Leclerc took full advantage to go from fourth position to first in one corner.

Both Ferrari cars made a good start as Verstappen had to defend his position shortly after from an attack by Carlos Sainz. It was a tough battle for Verstappen as the Ferrari car was clearly quicker than the Red Bull vehicle.

The first safety car since seven races ago was called in the third lap as Lewis Hamilton had to retire from the race. The race restarted two laps later, with Verstappen doing as well as possible to stick with Leclerc.

Sainz was struggling with his car for a short while, which gave Verstappen some breathing space, although Leclerc was racing away from him and taking a comfortable lead at the top.

The reigning champion went for his first pit stop in the 26th lap, coming out in fifth position. But it was still not easy for Verstappen afterward as he told his team that the tires were holding him back. “I can’t attack, I can’t do anything,” he said.

Norris had used this to bridge the gap and set up a fantastic battle which went on for the final ten laps. Verstappen did incredibly well to defend his third spot for as long as he did against the faster McLaren vehicle before Norris took the spot in the final laps.

This could be a costly loss of points for Norris when it comes to the world championship. Verstappen is top with 354 points, with the British driver following on 297. The race winner, Leclerc, has 275.

Mclaren increased their lead at the top of the constructors championship with this race. The team has 544 points, which puts them 40 points ahead of Red Bull, who now are having to look over their shoulder at Ferrari, whose solid recent form has them just eight points behind the Austrian team.