AS IT HAPPENED
After a busy day of action on Saturday – featuring a thrilling return for the Sprint, followed by an eventful qualifying session in which Norris clinched pole – the attentions of the paddock switched to race day at the Circuit of The Americas, with everybody readying themselves for the 56-lap United States Grand Prix.
A few alterations had been made to the starting order since qualifying; Mercedes confirmed that Russell would start from the pit lane after changes were made to his W15 under parc ferme conditions following his heavy Q3 crash, while Lawson lined up at the back due to taking on new power unit components and Zhou was 18th after a five-place grid penalty.
The drivers were greeted by warm and sunny conditions as the start neared and, when the tyre blankets came off as the cars assembled on the grid, it was confirmed that most of the pack had opted for medium rubber, with just the Mercedes duo, Stroll, Colapinto and Lawson starting on the hard.
Just a few minutes later, the lights went out and Norris looked to initially have had the better getaway than Verstappen but, after the title contenders went side-by-side into Turn 1, Norris was pushed wide which ultimately allowed Leclerc to slip through into the lead from Verstappen, while Sainz put himself into third ahead of Norris.
Having looked racy during Saturday, Sainz seemed to be in similar mood as the Spaniard looked to find a way past Verstappen into Turn 12. While the Dutchman had a wide moment, he returned to the track still in front of the Ferrari. Further back, Hamilton had worked his way up to P12 while Ocon had dropped to the back following a first-lap tangle with Albon.
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