‘Brilliant’ Verstappen holds up Hamilton’s charge to GP title

Max Verstappen driving a Red Bull Formula 1 car.
Photo: Lala77/ Flickr
Max Verstappen driving a Red Bull Formula 1 car.
Photo: Lala77/ Flickr

Red Bull team boss Christian Horner hailed Max Verstappen’s ‘brilliant’ drive at the US Grand Prix as the Dutchman punctured Lewis Hamilton’s hopes of sealing his fifth Formula One title.

The 21-year-old surged from 18th place on the grid to finish second, shutting out Hamilton in the latter stages as the Briton scrambled in vain to claim the points he needed to become world champion.

‘It was classic Max,’ said Horner. ‘He never gives up. I think he was up to ninth after the first lap. And to contest the race win at the end, with Lewis Hamilton behind him on better tyres, was unbelievable.’

Kimi Raikkonen’s win in Austin, his first in five years, means he remains 30 points ahead of Verstappen in the contest for third place in the drivers’ championship, while his Ferrari team-mate Sebastian Vettel finished fourth. It means Hamilton needs five more points to wrap up the championship title, while Vettel will have to win the last three races to overhaul him.

Verstappen said the result was unexpected after his poor performance in qualifying, exacerbated by a penalty which pushed him down the grid. He profited from an unscheduled extra pit stop by Hamilton to change tyres, but then had to hold off the British driver’s charge without wearing out his own super-soft tyres.

‘I had a good start and after that the team made the right strategic choices by going in before Valtteri Bottas,’ said Verstappen. ‘In the last few laps I didn’t have any tyres left.’

The last three rounds of the Grand Prix season are in Mexico, Brazil and Abu Dhabi.

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