Max Verstappen took his first victory in any format since the Spanish Grand Prix way back in June after winning the Sprint at the Circuit of The Americas – giving the Dutchman hope that Red Bull have returned to competitiveness.
Red Bull arrived in Austin for the United States Grand Prix weekend with an upgrade package for the RB20, with Verstappen using it to good effect to claim Sprint Qualifying pole on Friday evening.
READ MORE: Verstappen seals assured Sprint victory in Austin thriller ahead of Sainz and Norris
But he followed that up with a controlled display in the Sprint itself, withstanding early pressure from title rival Lando Norris to take the win – as Norris was passed on the final lap by Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz, meaning Verstappen extended his gap to the Briton to 54 points.
“It was not too bad, feels a bit like old times!” said Verstappen, who’s now won 11 of the 16 Sprints held.
“I’m very happy with today. I think of course if you look at the whole race, Ferrari was also very quick, but I think for us finally we were racing again.
/GettyImages-2178606807.jpg?w=218&resize=218,150&ssl=1 "Downbeat Lewis Hamilton says Austin Sprint doesn’t give Mercedes ‘any hope’ for rest of weekend")
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