Max Verstappen makes Lewis Hamilton claim after F1 rivals fight at Austin GP

21 October 2023 , 23:54

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Max Verstappen beat Lewis Hamilton to US GP Sprint victory (Image: AP)

Max Verstappen insisted he was simply "controlling" the pace of the United States Grand Prix Sprint when Lewis Hamilton was breathing down his neck.

Verstappen started the short-form race on pole and led for all 19 laps to take the chequered flag. But before he was able to fly off into the distance, Hamilton managed to remain on his gearbox for several laps to give the Dutchman something to think about.

It raised hopes that Hamilton might be able to go toe-to-toe with his Red Bull rival during Sunday's Grand Prix. But Verstappen insists he was not pushing flat out at the time and that is why the Mercedes was able to keep up.

"It was quite tight but luckily there is a lot of space going into Turn 1, so that definitely helped," he said of the race start. "After that, we could do our own race, control the pace a little bit and have a bit of fun at the end, pushing a little bit more.

"It was always eight-or-nine-tenths [of a seconds between him and Hamilton] for a few laps so that was all controllable into the braking zones. But the DRS with such big wings are quite powerful here. Once I cleared the DRS [window], we all settled in our own rhythms and I think the pace of the car was very good today."

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Hamilton knows it will be tough to match Red Bull for race pace over a longer distance. But the seven-time world champion was still beaming after he got out of his Mercedes at the end of the Sprint.

"That was a really fun race," he declared. "Good start down to turn one and good battle with Charles [Leclerc], and then I was trying early on to get closer to Max, but their pace is just undeniable at the moment.

"But I'm happy that we're a little bit closer. We've still got a long way to go to keep the pace that he was doing throughout the race but, nonetheless, I'm happy to be back on the podium."

Hamilton stopped short of saying he thinks he could win the Grand Prix, but did not close the door entirely on the idea of finally ending his long victory drought. "It will be helpful for us at the front," he replied when reminded that Verstappen will start sixth.

"Ultimately, I think he will be breathing down our necks before too long, with the pace that he had today. But I think it will open up for a good fight with Charles and Lando [Norris]. We're all quite similar in pace so, hopefully, we'll get to have a good battle tomorrow. If we can all keep Max behind then awesome, but if not then no worries."

Daniel Moxon