Verstappen is fighting for the lead: Qualifying for the sprint tonight

Verstappen is fighting for the lead: Qualifying for the sprint tonight

The tension in motorsport increases because the U.S.'s Grand Prix on the Circuit of the Americas is imminent. In the only free training session, the Spanish Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz achieved the best time. Meanwhile, Red Bull's world champion Max Verstappen reached the third fastest round. Verstappen had to be satisfied with a gap of 0.253 seconds on Sainz, which shows that the competition is more intensive this season.

With only 21 thousandth of the second behind Sainz, Monegasse Charles Leclerc also ended the training. These tight distances indicate that the Ferrari pilots are more competitive this season and make additional pressure. Lando Norris, the second pursuer in the World Cup ranking, had to be satisfied with fourth place-only 13 thousandths of the round behind the Red Bull pilot. The Brit, which is 52 points behind Verstappen, sees the sprint race the chance to make valuable points.

The attraction of the sprint racing

For the drivers, the upcoming sprint race in Austin offers the opportunity to significantly improve your points account, as up to 34 points can be achieved here. This could be particularly crucial for Norris to move closer to Verstappen. Despite his top position, the Dutchman has everything this season, but not even a place in the top positions can stop him in its dominance, as the current training results show.

Qualifying for the sprint race is on the program this evening at 11:30 p.m. German time. This session will show whether Verstappen and his team have made the right adjustments to the car to compete against the strong competition between Ferrari and other teams. Nico Hülkenberg, the only remaining German regular driver in the premier class of motorsport, landed in eleventh place in the single-seat car of the American Haas team. This shows that he can improve, but certainly not the same performance as the top driver.

These developments in free training and the upcoming races are of great importance not only for the drivers, but also for fans. The latest technical updates for the cars and the strategic approaches of the teams will be crucial to take the top of the field. The competition for the fastest rounds and the valuable points begin to the full extent, and everyone involved hopes for a gripping course of the race.

The history of the Circuit of the Americas is further revitalized by the upcoming races. The question remains how the teams will react to the challenges of the route layout and the interactions between the vehicles. Only time will show whose strategy and technology will prevail in the constant duel of the best drivers of sport. Further details on these developments can be found in a current article on www.onetz.de .