Title fight heats up as F1 heads to US

Lewis Hamilton will be gunning for another success in Austin as the Formula 1 World Championship heads to the US this weekend.

Victory at the Circuit of the Americas in Texas will give the Mercedes driver his sixth win at the venue and a boost in his thrilling battle with Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, which is shaping up as one of the closest championship fights in years with just six more races to go.

Verstappen’s seven wins against Hamilton’s five this season see the Dutchman just six points ahead in the standings before the US Grand Prix.

Hamilton’s Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas will also be looking to build on his success in Turkey, where he claimed his first F1 win since last year’s Russian Grand Prix.

Aston Martin’s Sebastian Vettel, a four-time champion who is languishing in the bottom half of the standings after a dismal season, will start the US Grand Prix with a grid penalty for an engine change.

The qualifying round at the nearly 5.5-kilometer (3.4-mile) Austin track will start at 2100GMT on Saturday and the 56-lap race is set for 1900GMT on Sunday.


 

Top 10 Driver Standings

Driver Team Points
1 Max Verstappen Red Bull 262.5
2 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 256.5
3 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 177
4 Lando Norris McLaren 145
5 Sergio Perez Red Bull 135
6 Carlos Sainz Ferrari 116.5
7 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 116
8 Daniel Ricciardo McLaren 95
9 Pierre Gasly AlphaTauri 74
10 Fernando Alonso Alpine 58

Constructor standings

Team Points
1 Mercedes 433.5
2 Red Bull 397.5
3 McLaren 240
4 Ferrari 232.5
5 Alpine 104
6 AlphaTauri 92
7 Aston Martin 61
8 Williams 23
9 Alfa Romeo 7
10 Haas -