F1 US Grand Prix LIVE: Qualifying schedule and times as Lando Norris looks to bounce back after sprint
F1 live updates from the Circuit of the Americas after Verstappen claimed victory in the sprint race
Max Verstappen ended his winless run to convert his pole position into victory at Saturday’s sprint race in the United States and extend his championship lead over Lando Norris by two points.
Verstappen led from start to finish to take the chequered flag 3.8 seconds clear of Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz, who moved past Norris on the final lap.
Norris hung on to third, one place ahead of Charles Leclerc. George Russell started second but finished only fifth.
Lewis Hamilton was sixth in the other Mercedes.
Follow live updates from the United States Grand Prix with The Independent
A reminder of the start times for the remainder of the Austin weekend:
All times BST
Saturday 19 October
- Qualifying: 11pm
Sunday 20 October
- Race: 8pm
TOP-8 IN US GRAND PRIX SPRINT
1. Max Verstappen (8 points)
2. Carlos Sainz (7 points)
3. Lando Norris (6 points)
4. Charles Leclerc (5 points)
5. George Russell (4 points)
6. Lewis Hamilton (3 points)
7. Kevin Magnussen (2 points)
8. Nico Hulkenberg (1 point)
Lewis Hamilton and F1 are desperate for Africa return – but these obstacles must be overcome
Formula One wants to return. Lewis Hamilton insists F1 cannot continue to ignore it. But after 31 years away, the sport still can’t thrash out a route back into the only viable continent (sorry Antarctica) it fails to race in: Africa.
It was 1993 the last time the “Mother Continent” hosted an F1 grand prix. That was at Kyalami, 20 miles north of Johannesburg, as Williams driver Alain Prost won the 27th version of the South African Grand Prix.
Rather obviously, it is difficult to claim the full veracity of the competition “Formula 1 World Championship” while a record 24-race calendar does not actually include the entire world and its continents.
But F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali has made no secret of his desire to add an African race to the schedule, amid an opening set of talks with Rwandan officials last month.
However, is Rwanda the only option? South Africa has come close in recent years, too. And what are the major obstacles? The Independent takes a look at all the potential locations F1 could venture to in Africa.
Lewis Hamilton and F1 are desperate for Africa return – but these obstacles remain
South Africa and Rwanda are the leading African candidates to host a Formula One grand prix in the future
Driver Standings after US GP sprint
The gap between the top two is now 54 points...
1. Max Verstappen - 339 points
2. Lando Norris - 285 points
3. Charles Leclerc - 250 points
4. Oscar Piastri - 237 points
5. Carlos Sainz - 197 points
6. Lewis Hamilton - 177 points
7. George Russell - 159 points
8. Sergio Perez - 144 points
9. Fernando Alonso - 62 points
10. Nico Hulkenberg - 25 points
11. Lance Stroll - 24 points
12. Yuki Tsunoda - 22 points
13. Alex Albon - 12 points
14. Daniel Ricciardo - 12 points
15. Kevin Magnussen - 8 points
16. Pierre Gasly - 8 points
17. Ollie Bearman - 7 points
18. Esteban Ocon - 5 points
19. Franco Colapinto - 4 points
20. Zhou Guanyu - 0 points
21. Logan Sargeant - 0 points
22. Valtteri Bottas - 0 points
Martin Brundle insists there is ‘no smoking gun’ in Red Bull F1 bib device saga
Martin Brundle believes there is “no smoking gun” for Red Bull as their ‘bib’ device saga continues at the US Grand Prix in Austin on Friday.
Full quotes below:
Martin Brundle insists there is ‘no smoking gun’ in Red Bull F1 bib device saga
The furore surrounding Red Bull’s unique device has overshadowed the start of the US Grand Prix
SPRINT RACE REPORT: Max Verstappen ends frustrating winless run with sprint success at US Grand Prix
Max Verstappen ended his winless run to convert his pole position into victory at Saturday’s sprint race in the United States and extend his championship lead over Lando Norris by two points.
Verstappen led from start to finish to take the chequered flag 3.8 seconds clear of Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz, who moved past Norris on the final lap.
Norris hung on to third, one place ahead of Charles Leclerc. George Russell started second but finished only fifth. Lewis Hamilton was sixth in the other Mercedes.
Full report below:
Max Verstappen ends frustrating winless run with sprint success at US Grand Prix
Lando Norris slipped two points further adrift of his title rival as he lost a place on the final lap
F1 US Grand Prix: George Russell, after finishing fifth in the sprint
“Front tyres, I spoke with Lewis after the race, he had no rear tyres left - so we’re missing something.
“We need to get on top of these tyres, it’s the first time we ran on the medium tyres.
“It’s only the sprint race.”
F1 US Grand Prix: Max Verstappen, after winning the sprint...
“It was not too bad, feels a bit like old times. Very happy with today, for us finally we’re racing again. Now we can do our own race and we have good pace.”
F1 US Grand Prix: Carlos Sainz, after finishing second..
“They were fun battles, a good sprint. A lot going on, towards the end I was struggling with the tyres. We made it stick into turn one, it was a fun one!
“It’s encouraging to see for tomorrow we have a chance. For qualifying, our car is not in the best place.”
F1 US Grand Prix: Lando Norris, who finished third...
“It was a good race, I’m pretty happy with how things ended up. I thought I could hand on to second, my front tyres were completely finished.
“Disappointing end but happy with the race result, good amount of points.
“Today was a good start, good first corner. I did the most I could, we don’t have the pace on Max or the Ferraris.”
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments