The disadvantage of starting late was not enough to prevent champion Max Verstappen from defeating Lewis Hamilton and Lando Norris on the Austin, Texas race track to take first place in the US Grand Prix.

Verstappen entered the main race without a big advantage like other races, because he only started in sixth place. But the Dutch driver’s RB19 soon overtook George Russell (Mercedes) in the first corner, while at the top, Norris (McLaren) quickly overtook the starting driver Charles Leclerc (Ferrari). Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) was also soon overtaken by Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) and dropped to fourth in the first round.

Max Verstappen finished first at the US GP

The top order of the race after the opening round includes Norris leading, followed by Leclerc, Sainz, Hamilton and Verstappen. But in the following rounds, the Ferari duo was gradually overtaken by Verstappen and Hamilton, taking their place in the top three. Verstappen plans to use a two-pit strategy, so he proactively returns to pit early in round 16. At this time, the Dutch driver is 6.5 seconds behind Norris, and less than two seconds behind Hamilton.

Norris changed tires in the next round to switch to hard tires, instead of medium tires as Verstappen chose. When returning to the track, McLaren’s driver still maintained the leading position. However, in the following rounds, the speed advantage from the medium tires helped Verstappen gradually catch up, before closing in and attacking fiercely with a bold swerve to overtake Norris and take the first place in lap 28 and keep it. Stay in this position until the end of the race.

Verstappen overtook Norris and held first position until the end of the race. Photo: X / @redbullracing

This victory brings the total number of wins in Verstappen’s F1 career to 50. Red Bull’s main driver continues to affirm his superiority in the 2023 season with 15 wins in 18 races, and is currently scored nearly twice as high as the next person on the individual scoreboard – teammate Sergio Perez.