Partly cloudy. Dry. Air +33С highway +37…36С
The Saturday evening session in Austin was traditionally postponed by several hours, including in the entertainment program. Previously it was a qualifying, but now it is a sprint, starting at 5 p.m. local time – and at 1 a.m. Moscow time.
Qualifying for the Sprint Shootout proved more predictable than qualifying for Sunday’s race, but after consultation with the drivers the FIA agreed to change the track boundaries at Turns 9, 12 and 19, meaning there were not as many penalties. like the day before.
Verstappen and Leclerc started the sprint from the front row of the starting field, Hamilton and Norris from second, Piastri and Sainz from third. Russell qualified eighth and started 11th, losing three places due to Leclerc’s blocking.
Pirelli brought three ‘medium’ compounds to the podium – C2, C3 and C4, labeled Hard, Medium and Soft.
Sainz started on Soft, the rest on Medium. 19 laps had to be driven.
Verstappen retained his lead at the start. Sainz overtook Piastri, Hamilton overtook Leclerc, Russell gained three positions, Alonso lost three positions.
Top ten in round 2: Verstappen – Hamilton – Leclerc – Sainz – Norris – Piastri – Perez – Russell – Gasly – Albon.
On lap 3 Perez and Russell took the lead from Piastri. George passed Oscar outside the track – the stewards took care of this incident and gave Russell a five-second time penalty.
Hamilton did not let go of Verstappen, but he could not attack either – the speed difference was not enough to attack, they went a few tenths, but then Max pulled away and drove off the track several times.
On the sixth lap, Gasly overtook Piastri in the battle for eighth place. On the 8th lap Piastri also overtook Albon.
Top ten in round 10: Verstappen – Hamilton – Leclerc – Sainz – Norris – Perez – Russell – Gasly – Albon – Piastri.
Piastri received a black and white flag warning for driving off the track several times.
Norris and Perez overtook Sainz – his car’s soft tires began to lose their effectiveness.
Top ten in round 15: Verstappen – Hamilton – Leclerc – Norris – Perez – Sainz – Russell – Gasly – Albon – Piastri.
On lap 17, Stroll pulled the car into the pits and retired due to brake problems.
Max Verstappen won the sprint in Austin, Lewis Hamilton finished second, closing the gap on Sergio Perez in the individual competition, and Charles Leclerc finished the race in third.
The battle will soon continue in the race on Sunday.
Sprint results
| Pilot | Team | Time | Speed | Pete |
| 1. M. Verstappen | Red Bull | 31:30,849 | 198,813 | 0 |
| 2. L.Hamilton | Mercedes | +9,465 | 197,823 | 0 |
| 3. S. Leclerc | Ferrari | +17.987 | 196,940 | 0 |
| 4. L.Norris | McLaren | +18.863 | 196,849 | 0 |
| 5. C. Perez | Red Bull | +22.928 | 196,431 | 0 |
| 6. K.Sainz | Ferrari | +28.307 | 195,881 | 0 |
| 7. P. Gasly | Alps | +32.403 | 195,463 | 0 |
| 8. D. Russell* | Mercedes | +34,250 | 195,276 | 0 |
| 9. A. Albon | Williams | +34.567 | 195,244 | 0 |
| 10. O. Piastri | McLaren | +42.403 | 194,452 | 0 |
| 11. E. Okon | Alps | +44.986 | 194,193 | 0 |
| 12. D. Ricciardo | AlphaTauri | +45.509 | 194,140 | 0 |
| 13. F. Alonso | Aston Martin | +49.086 | 193,782 | 0 |
| 14. Yu.Tsunoda | AlphaTauri | +49.733 | 193,718 | 0 |
| 15. N. Hulkenberg | Hare | +56,650 | 193,030 | 0 |
| 16. V. Bottas | Alfa Romeo | +64.401 | 192,265 | 0 |
| 17. G.Zhou* | Alfa Romeo | +67.972 | 191,914 | 0 |
| 18. K. Magnussen | Hare | +71.122 | 191,606 | 0 |
| 19. L. Sargent | Williams | +71.449 | 191,574 | 0 |
| L. Walk | Aston Martin | meeting | 1 |
*Russell and Zhou receive a five-second time penalty for overtaking off the track and failing to regain the lead.
Best round: Max Verstappen (Red Bull Racing) – 1:39.060 (2nd lap, 200.351 km/h)
Reasons for the meetings
| Pilot | Team | Kroogov | Cause |
| L. Walk | Aston Martin | 16 | brakes |
Championship Position: Individual Competition
Championship position: Constructors’ Championship
| Team | Engine | Glasses | |
| = | 1. Oracle Red Bull Racing | Honda RBPT | 669 |
| = | 2. Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team | Mercedes | 334 |
| = | 3. Scuderia Ferrari | Ferrari | 307 |
| = | 4. Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant F1 Team | Mercedes | 230 |
| = | 5. McLaren F1 Team | Mercedes | 224 |
| = | 6. BWT Alpine F1 Team | Renault | 92 |
| = | 7. Williams Racing | Mercedes | 23 |
| = | 8. Alfa Romeo F1 team stakes | Ferrari | 16 |
| = | 9. MoneyGram Haas F1 Team | Ferrari | 12 |
| = | 10. Scuderia Alpha Tauri | Honda RBPT | 5 |
Source: F1 News
I am Christopher Clyde, an experienced journalist and content writer with a passion for sports. I have been writing about Formula 1 news for the past five years and am currently employed as an author at athletistic.com, one of the top sports websites in the US.
