U.S. GP: Charles Leclerc leads Ferrari one-two as Verstappen scrapes third

AUSTIN, Texas -- Charles Leclerc won a memorable U.S. Grand Prix, where a late time penalty demoted Lando Norris behind title rival Max Verstappen to fourth.

Norris had caught and passed Verstappen for third after a lengthy battle late in the race, but exceeded the limits of the track while doing so.

That earned Norris a five-second penalty that dropped him behind Verstappen in the final standings despite finishing on track ahead of the Red Bull driver.

Verstappen inherited third place, moving him 57 points clear with five regular races and two sprint races still to go.

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Verstappen said afterwards: "It was a tough battle, I tried everything I could to keep him behind and at the end to be on the podium for us is a very good result."

On the penalty, he added: "I have my opinion I don't need to say it here, I let the stewards do their thing. For us it was a race we learned a lot and we'll analyse that."

Ferrari claimed their second 1-2 of the season, after the Australian Grand Prix, with Carlos Sainz in second.

Sainz said the result "puts us exactly where we want to in the fight for the constructors' now."

While Verstappen is still mathematically in with a shot at the title, the race result dealt a significant blow to Norris' hopes of overturning the Dutchman's advantage.

The McLaren driver complained over the team radio about Verstappen's move. "He clearly pushed me off. He had no intent to make the corner," said the Briton. "Even he went off the track. I had to avoid crashing into him or him into me."

McLaren boss Zak Brown said his driver had suffered "a bit of a dive bomb."

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Leclerc gained the lead at the start when Verstappen aggressively forced Norris wide at Turn 1.

The two title rivals ran wide, allowing the Ferrari driver into the lead. 

Leclerc's win, his third of the season after Monaco and Monza, ended Verstappen's run of three successive U.S. Grand Prix wins at Austin's Circuit of the Americas.

Leclerc said he was "really happy with today, a one-two for the team, we couldn't have dreamed for better."

On the Turn 1 gain, he said: "It was a really good Turn 1, that's exactly what we wanted to do and we've had a really good launch and I knew that it was going to be very tight ... we are still targeting the title and it's a long way to go, but a good start to this triple header."

McLaren's Oscar Piastri was fifth with Mercedes' George Russell sixth and Sergio Perez seventh for Red Bull.

Nico Hulkenberg scored precious points for U.S.-owned Haas in eighth while New Zealander Liam Lawson got off to a great return with Red Bull-owned RB with ninth place despite starting at the back of the grid.

Argentine rookie Franco Colapinto also continued his standout form with the final point for Williams.

The safety car made an appearance for the first time since Canada in June when seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton spun off on lap two and beached his Mercedes in the gravel at Turn 19.

The retirement ended a miserable 24-hours for the Briton, who qualified only 19th at one of his favourite circuits and started 17th.

Esteban Ocon set the fastest lap for Alpine but finished 18th and did not collect a bonus point.