Max Verstappen Wins Austin F1 Sprint Race

Max Verstappen won the 2025 United States Grand Prix sprint race, with both McLaren drivers crashing out at Turn 1.

What happened?

The Formula One pack charged up the hill toward Austin’s Turn 1, with polesitter Verstappen and Lando Norris sliding deep into the left-hand hairpin. Oscar Piastri saw his chance and aggressively cut back to the inside, making contact with the Sauber and Piastri, hitting Norris and taking both McLaren drivers out of the race.

Why it matters for Max Verstappen

Verstappen’s win cut his gap to points leader Piastri to 55, with six grands prix and two more sprint races remaining, as of October 18, 2025. The gap had sat at 104 points before last month’s Italian GP.

What comes next?

The race resumed on Lap 6 of 19, with Verstappen still leading the pack, and George Russell sticking close enough to Verstappen to make a divebomb move at Turn 12 on Lap 8. But this effort seemed to sap the life from Russell’s tires, and by Lap 11, Verstappen had pulled away from the Mercedes to be nearly two seconds clear. And Carlos Sainz held onto third, while behind, Lewis Hamilton beat Charles Leclerc to fourth. The safety car was sent out again after Lance Stroll and Esteban Ocon collided at Turn 1 on Lap 16. So the race was ended under the safety car, with Verstappen taking the win. But Zak Brown said on Sky Sports, “That was terrible, neither of our drivers to blame there, some amateur hour driving.”