AUSTIN, Texas: Max Verstappen claimed a comfortable victory for Red Bull ahead of Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz and title rival Lando Norris of McLaren in a frantic sprint race on Saturday at the United States Grand Prix.
The three-time world champion and series leader came home 3.8 seconds clear of Sainz, who drove with great determination and speed, and Norris, who was second until a last lap lock-up saw him drop to third.
“That’s not too bad,” said Verstappen, having claimed his first win since the sprint at the Austrian Grand Prix at the end of June to enlarge his title race lead by two points to 54 ahead of Norris.
“It’s a bit like the old times and is a good way to start things. As usual, it was all a bit frantic.”
It was Verstappen’s 11th win from 16 sprint races, a format he claims he dislikes. He has won three sprints in Austin as well as three Grands Prix and on Sunday will seek to secure his first Grand Prix victory in nine races since the Spanish Grand Prix.
Sainz said: “That was a good race with some very good battles and it had a lot going on! I was struggling with my tires, but I saw Lando was too. And I made it stick. It was fun.”
Norris said he was satisfied to collect six points.
“A good race, pretty happy,” he said. “I had so much tire wear and Carlos did a great job.”
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc finished fourth ahead of Mercedes’ George Russell and seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton with Kevin Magnussen taking seventh for Haas ahead of team-mate Nico Hulkenberg.
Sergio Perez and Oscar Piastri of Red Bull and McLaren were outside the points in ninth and 10th places.
Verstappen made a clean start to lead as Norris swept from fourth to second, passing both Leclerc and Russell.
All the cars were on mediums and it was a close contest among the top six, notably as Sainz fought Leclerc for fourth, with Hamilton, sixth, in close attention while, at the front, Russell battled to stay in touch with the two title rivals.
By lap five, Verstappen was 1.3 seconds clear and out of Drag Reduction System (DRS) range of Norris while Russell closed to within six-tenths and, finally, Sainz muscled his way past Leclerc.
The Dutchman pulled clear by 2.1 seconds by lap eight, but with Norris closing again after resisting Russell that advantage was trimmed again to 1.3 before Sainz, in boisterous mood, seized third by passing inside Russell at Turn 15.
Hamilton, sixth, appeared to struggle to stay with the top five and was 4.5 seconds adrift while his Mercedes team-mate, who started second, descended to fifth on lap 11 when Leclerc repeated Sainz’s move.
Further back, Piastri, who started 16th progressed to 11th and a scrap with RB’s Yuki Tsunoda for 10th behind Perez, the trio chasing Hulkenberg in the final point-scoring place.
Tsunoda ran off on lap 15 and was accused of gaining an advantage before the Australian finally passed him on lap 16 to take 10th, albeit with a five-second penalty for an early incident with Pierre Gasly’s Alpine.
Sainz, who leaves Ferrari at the end of the year, continued to show his venom by closing within DRS range of Norris on the penultimate lap as Verstappen cruised clear — the Spaniard taking advantage when Norris locked up at Turn One on his final lap.
Sainz accepted the gift to take second with Leclerc almost hitting Norris on the final lap before Verstappen took the flag for a morale-boosting win.
Max Verstappen claims sprint win in Austin, Norris third
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Max Verstappen claims sprint win in Austin, Norris third
- It was Verstappen’s 11th win from 16 sprint races, a format he claims he dislikes
Luka Doncic, LeBron James lead Lakers past 76ers in return to lineup
- Doncic posted a triple-double, finishing with 31 points, 15 rebounds and 11 assists
- Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren scored 25 points each as Oklahoma City tied a franchise record with their 15th straight win over Utah in Salt Lake City
NEW YORK: Luka Doncic and LeBron James combined for 60 points in their return to the lineup as the Los Angeles Lakers topped the host Philadelphia 76ers 112-108 on Sunday night.
Both missed the first two games of this road trip, Doncic due to the birth of his second daughter and James with back and foot injuries. James scored five straight points after Philadelphia tied the game at 105 with 1:29 left to create separation.
Doncic posted a triple-double, finishing with 31 points, 15 rebounds and 11 assists. He only shot 9-of-24 from the field, but James was an efficient 12-of-17 for 29 points, while adding seven rebounds and six assists.
Tyrese Maxey led Philadelphia with 28 points, nine assists and seven rebounds. Joel Embiid added 16 points for the Sixers but shot just 4-of-21 from the floor.
Thunder 131 Jazz 101
Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren scored 25 points each as Oklahoma City tied a franchise record with their 15th straight win over Utah in Salt Lake City.
Despite being without reigning MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander for the first time this season along with two other starters, the Thunder dominated from the start. Oklahoma City shot 58 percent from the field and was 21 of 42 from beyond the arc.
Kyle Filipowski led the Jazz with 21 points on 10-of-14 shooting with 10 rebounds. Walter Clayton Jr. and Taylor Hendricks scored 20 points each off the bench.
Knicks 106 Magic 100
Jalen Brunson scored eight points during a decisive run to open the second half for New York, which earned a 106-100 win over Orlando after the visitors lost forward Franz Wagner to a lower leg injury.
Brunson finished with 30 points and nine assists and Josh Hart (17 points, 12 rebounds) posted a double-double for the Knicks, who overcame the absence of Karl-Anthony Towns (left calf) to close out a perfect three-game homestand and improve to 13-1 at home.
Anthony Black (14 points, 11 rebounds) recorded a double-double off the bench for the Magic, who lost for only the fourth time in 14 games. Jalen Suggs scored 17 points while Paolo Banchero and Desmond Bane had 16 apiece.
Celtics 121 Raptors 113
Jaylen Brown scored 30 points, Derrick White added 27 and visiting Boston held off Toronto for their fifth straight win.
Payton Pritchard scored 15 points for the Celtics, who have won 10 of 12. Neemias Queta had 11 points and 11 rebounds while Anfernee Simons scored 12.
Brandon Ingram scored 30 for the Raptors, who have dropped three straight. Scottie Barnes added 18 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists, helping erase a 23-point deficit early in the second half before Boston used a late surge to come out on top.
Nuggets 115 Hornets 106
Jamal Murray had a huge opening stretch en route to 34 points and Nikola Jokic joined the production with 28 points and 11 assists as Denver defeated host Charlotte.
Tim Hardaway Jr. had 14 points and Peyton Watson added 10 as the Nuggets improved to 11-2 in road games. They’ve won 10 straight away from home, aided by shooting 51.8 percent from the field against Charlotte.
Miles Bridges led the Hornets with 24 points, Brandon Miller posted 17, KJ Simpson poured in 16 and Kon Knueppel chipped in with 14. Liam McNeeley contributed 13 off the bench for the Hornets, who have lost three of their last four games.
Grizzlies 119 Trail Blazers 96
Santi Aldama came off the bench to score 22 points and Kentavious Caldwell- Pope and Jaylen Wells added 16 apiece to lead Memphis to a victory over visiting Portland.
The Grizzlies won for the fifth time in six games and recorded back-to-back home wins for the first time this season. Aldama and Caldwell-Pope were part of the Memphis bench that produced 69 points, along with Jock Landale (15 points, eight rebounds) and Cam Spencer (12 points, six assists). Starter Zach Edey had 12 points and 10 rebounds before fouling out in the fourth quarter.
Portland was held to fewer than 100 points for only the second time this season. The Trail Blazers, who lost for the fifth time in six games, were led by Jerami Grant with 21 points and seven rebounds. Deni Avdija added 17 points, seven rebounds and seven assists.
Warriors 123 Bulls 91
Visiting Golden State sank 22 threes — their second most of the season — and never trailed in a 123-91 slamming of Chicago.
The Warriors played without Steph Curry (quad), Draymond Green (foot) and Al Horford (sciatica), but looked smooth from the start. Seven Warriors made threes as the visitors finished 22-of-47 (46.8 percent) from behind the arc. Brandin Podziemski came off the bench, sank five threes and finished with a game-high 21 points. Quinten Post had five threes and 19 points. Jimmy Butler had two 3-pointers and also had 19.
Josh Giddey led the Bulls with 18 points and five assists, and Matas Buzelis tallied 16 points on 7-of-12 shooting.
