Charles Leclerc wins the United States Grand Prix as Max Verstappen fumes after controversial move

Charles Leclerc has won the United States Grand Prix with a stunning drive in Texas, but all the drama was behind him.

Charles Leclerc has won the US Grand Prix in Texas, giving Ferrari its first one-two finish since this year’s Australian round in March.

Starting fourth on the grid, Leclerc took the lead at the first corner and never looked back, cruising to a comfortable victory at the hilly circuit in Austin, Texas.

Leclerc’s Spanish team mate Carlos Sainz finished second.

Championship leader Max Verstappen was elevated to third to extend his lead in the driver’s championship after Lando Norris was given a five-second penalty for exceeding track limits.

Norris crossed the line third after passing Verstappen late but incurred the wrath of stewards after going wide and gaining an advantage.

He was given a penalty and demoted to fourth.

Race winner Charles Leclerc of Ferrari celebrates the win. Picture: Getty

The result meant Verstappen extended his lead over Norris in the driver’s championship to 57 points with just five races to go.

Australia’s Oscar Piastri crossed the line fifth to extend McLaren’s lead in the constructor’s title race.

Charles Leclerc was naturally thrilled by his third win of the season, telling Jenson Button at the post race interviews: “Very happy, it hasn’t been an easy weekend until now I have been struggling with the feeling in the car but I had the confidence in the race and the feeling was better.

“We said in the sprint race we weren’t scared but we felt that the others will improve but today we still had the upper hand so really happy with how it went today, a one-two for the team, we couldn’t have dreamed for better.”

Oscar Piastri had a drama-free drive, finishing fifth. Picture: Getty

Leclerc said the race was effectively won at the start when he went from fourth to first at the first corner.

“It was a pretty good turn one, that is exactly how I wanted to do, we had a good launch and I knew it would be tight.” he said.

“Yesterday I was a bit of a victim being in the wrong place at the wrong time, today I gained from it and that helped a lot in our first stint because we had a lot of mega pace.

“In the second stint it was all about managing behind but we did a great job, the pace of the car this weekend was really good and that’s thanks to the engineers. They’ve been working like crazy to bring the upgrades that we had in Singapore and it seems to be paying off. Everything worked out well and we are really really happy.”

Race winner Charles Leclerc (C) with second-placed teammate Carlos Sainz and championship leader Max Verstappen, who finished third. Picture: Getty

By finishing one-two, the prancing horses are suddenly back in contention for the constrictors championships, sitting in third, 44 points behind McLaren and four behind Red Bull.

“Very happy and now we are still targeting the title, it’s still a long way to go but it’s a good start to this triple header,” he said.

Max Verstappen was tightlipped when asked if the officials were right to penalise Norris for running wide.

“You know I have my opinions but I don’t need to say it here, I’ll let the stewards do their thing. For us it was a race where we learnt a lot and we will learn from that,” he said.

The triple world champion was more vocal about his own race, saying he was satisfied with third after a “difficult race.”

“I didn’t have the pace to attack, it was a bit different to yesterday. Just understeering a lot, struggling on the braking. That made the defending quite difficult because every time someone wanted to go for a move, I couldn’t really brake that late. It was a tough battle. I tried everything I could to keep him (Norris( behind. To be on the podium for us is a good result.”.

Originally published as Charles Leclerc wins the United States Grand Prix as Max Verstappen fumes after controversial move