The first ever sprint in Texas, to the surprise of the organizers, was not as popular as initially expected. Ticket sales were quite good, but the Americans expected better results, which they officially informed the media. However, fans watching the competition on TV could not complain, all because in the Shootout the top four finished within one tenth of a second. The worse news for those who wanted to watch the fierce battle for victory was the pole position taken by this year’s dominator – Max Verstappen, who was on the road to another triumph in his career in the 100-kilometer race.
Charles Leclerc did not make the task easy for the Red Bull leader. Both drivers drove wheel to wheel on the approach to the first corner, but the Dutchman kept more cool blood. To make matters worse, the Monegasque lost the runner-up position to Lewis Hamilton. In the initial phase of the competition, the Briton did not intend to be satisfied with the second position, so he put pressure on the leader of the general classification. His courageous driving allowed him to use the DRS system (less than a second behind), which allowed him to increase his advantage over his Ferrari opponent.
By the way, the Italian team opted for two different strategies today, because Carlos Sainz was the only one using soft tires. At the start, this actually gave him an advantage over his rivals, but the further into the forest, the Spaniard’s pace deteriorated. Compared to Verstappen, Lewis Hamilton also started to slow down from the sixth lap. – Max exceeded the track limits a few times – the frustrated Briton complained at one point, but the judges remained unmoved.
Sainz stopped Norris. Leclerc benefited from this
Carlos Sainz, mentioned in the previous paragraph, defended himself against Lando Norris for a long time, which worked to the advantage of Charles Leclerc, who was leaving them. The McLaren driver finally achieved his goal on the tenth wheel, but he lacked the distance to catch up with the Monegasque driver who was so solid this weekend. However, the most important race for the third Ferrari competitor in the sprint is tomorrow, because he will start from pole position. Max Verstappen, on the other hand, will fight his way to the front from the third row.
