Valtteri Bottas starts behind the pack in the sprint race. PDO
Sprint Shootout, Austin
1. Max Verstappen, Red Bull
2. Charles Leclerc, Ferrari
3. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes
4. Lando Norris, McLaren
5. Oscar Piastri, McLaren
6. Carlos Sainz, Ferrari
7. Sergio Perez, Red Bull
8. George Russell, Mercedes
9. Alex Albon, Williams
10. Pierre Gasly, Alpine
11. Daniel Ricciardo, AlphaTauri
12. Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin
13. Esteban Ocon, Alpine
14. Lance Stroll, Aston Martin
15. Guanyu Zhou, Alfa Romeo
16. Nico Hülkenberg, Haas
17. Kevin Magnussen, Haas
18. Valtteri Bottas, Alfa Romeo
19. Yuki Tsunoda, AlphaTauri
20. Logan Sargeant, Williams
Max Verstappen starts from square one in the sprint race of the race weekend in Austin.
The ruler of the Formula world harnessed his driving skills and the superiority of his Red Bull in a familiar way. Session’s slip happened in the second section, where the Dutchman was spinning fast. The tires were the same, but it affected the performance.
Charles Leclerc got within 55 hundredths at the time of decision. The Ferrari star, who grabbed the pole position in the actual race, briefly raised the fans’ hopes of beating Verstappen, but the last sector turned the battle over to the Dutchman. Lewis Hamilton was third by 0.069 from Verstappen.
Valtteri Bottas did not work out. Alfa Romeo’s Finnish driver dropped out of the continuation already in the opening section. Tee 18 is depressingly bad. The loss to a teammate made the performance bitter.
Aston Martin’s stomach-churning continues. Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll dropped out of the continuation in the Q2 section. The team, which was the second best in the series since the beginning of the season, has fallen from the other top teams.
The sprint race is a night treat for formula fans. The starting lights go out in a couple of hours, at 01 Finnish time.