Pole-sitter Verstappen claimed his first win – in either a Sprint or full-length Grand Prix – since June, as he provided further evidence that the extensive upgrades Red Bull brought to Austin are working.
Norris appeared to have salvaged second after a brilliant start saw him move up two places from fourth on the grid, but the McLaren driver struggled to make his tyres last and was passed by Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz on the final lap
Norris survived late pressure from Sainz’s team-mate Charles Leclerc to hold onto third, and avoided a penalty after the stewards investigated him following the race for driving erratically when defending from the Ferrari at Turn 15.
Verstappen’s Drivers’ Championship lead grows by two points to 54, with Norris still having the opportunity to make ground in Sunday’s Grand Prix, for which qualifying takes place later on Saturday at 11pm, live on Sky Sports F1.
“It feels a bit like old times,” Verstappen said. “I’m very happy with today. If you look at the whole race, Ferrari was also very quick.
“For us, finally we are racing again. Normally we are always looking back but now we can just do our own race, so we had good pace.”
George Russell, having started from second, finished fifth – a place ahead of his Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton – as the Silver Arrows failed to deliver the pace many had expected from their upgraded car.
Haas duo Kevin Magnussen and Nico Hulkenberg rounded out the points-scoring positions to move the American-owned team above RB and into sixth place in the Constructors’ Championship.
