- Thrilling finish in Texas sees Dutchman prevail by 1.3 sec
- Verstappen now has 10-point lead going into Mexico GP
With its steep rise towards a hairpin left turn, the first corner at the Circuit of the Americas is an open-throttled test of nerve. An aggressive approach initially paid off for Lewis Hamilton as he overtook Max Verstappen at the start of this race. Hamilton dived for the inside and surged into the lead on the first turn, forcing Verstappen’s Red Bull wide after he was unable to cut off the Mercedes.
Fireworks were anticipated after collisions between the pair this season at Silverstone and Monza and the tension is obvious as the season reaches its climax. Verstappen called Hamilton a “stupid idiot” and directed a middle finger at his rival when their cars almost made contact during a practice session on Friday.