Charles Leclerc secured his third win of the season at the United States Grand Prix, leading a Ferrari 1-2 finish with Carlos Sainz in second. Lando Norris missed out on a podium spot after a fierce scrap with Max Verstappen, compounded by a five-second penalty.

Leclerc got off to a flying start, seizing the opportunity as the front-row duo of Verstappen and Norris scrapped into Turn 1. With precision, he slipped through on the inside and surged ahead, navigating the sweeping corners to claim an early lead.

By the end of the first lap, Leclerc had pulled a 1.6-second gap to fend off Verstappen, who had capitalized on Norris’ cautious entry into Turn 1 to snatch second place. It was a textbook move from the Dutchman, but Leclerc’s Ferrari was already a distant dot.

Drama unfolded just a few laps later when a safety car was deployed following Lewis Hamilton's spin at Turn 18, where his Mercedes got beached in the gravel. This halted Leclerc’s momentum but set the stage for a nail-biting restart.

Verstappen was close behind, looking to pounce. But Leclerc masterfully controlled the restart, navigating through the Turn 2-8 complex and ensuring Verstappen remained a spectator rather than a challenger.

Leclerc was running a one-stop strategy, pitting on lap 26, and emerged behind the long-running McLarens. Norris and Oscar Piastri were banking on a tyre offset for a late charge, but Leclerc soon reclaimed the lead once the McLarens ducked into the pits.

Now, his nearest challenger was teammate Carlos Sainz. The Spaniard, who had overcome earlier power unit issues, had undercut Verstappen by pitting four laps earlier. Sainz occasionally nibbled into Leclerc’s lead, reducing the gap from seven seconds to under six, but Leclerc had everything under control and powered home from fourth on the grid.

The real fireworks, though, were in the battle for third. Verstappen, struggling on hard tyres, was under intense pressure from Norris, who was flying on fresher rubber. Norris slashed a six-second gap, getting within DRS range by lap 45, setting the stage for a thrilling duel.

Verstappen’s defence was superb, keeping Norris just out of reach. Despite being in DRS range, Norris couldn’t get close enough on the back straight into Turn 12 for a serious overtake attempt. 

The tension reached its peak on lap 52 when Norris made a bold move on the outside of Verstappen. Both drivers ran wide, and Norris edged ahead, but he did so off-track. Desperate to build a gap, he tried to extend his lead over Verstappen, but it was only 4.1 seconds. The stewards hit him with a five-second penalty, demoting him behind Verstappen, who secured the final podium spot by just 0.9 seconds.

Oscar Piastri followed closely in fifth, just 1.5 seconds behind Norris, while George Russell came home sixth. Russell, starting from the pit lane after a qualifying crash, made a late move on Sergio Perez to secure the position.

Nico Hülkenberg’s eighth place for Haas gave them a vital boost in the constructors' fight, adding two more points to the tally. Liam Lawson, returning to F1, finished ninth, having started on hard tyres in a clever strategy play.

Franco Colapinto grabbed the final point, finishing eight seconds ahead of Kevin Magnussen, whose promising race was hampered by a second pit stop.

1. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)

2. Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) +8.562

3. Max Verstappen (Red Bull Racing) +19.412

4. Lando Norris (McLaren) +20.354

5. Oscar Piastri (McLaren) +21.921

6. George Russell (Mercedes) +56.295

7. Sergio Perez (Red Bull Racing) +59.072

8. Nico Hulkenberg (Haas) +62.957

9. Liam Lawson (RB) +70.563

10. Franco Colapinto (Williams) +71.979

11. Kevin Magnussen (Haas) +79.782

12. Pierre Gasly (Alpine) +90.558

13. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) +1 Lap

14. Yuki Tsunoda (RB) +1 Lap

15. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) +1 Lap

16. Alexander Albon (Williams) +1 Lap

17. Valtteri Bottas (Kick Sauber) +1 Lap

18. Esteban Ocon (Alpine) +1 Lap

19. Zhou Guanyu (Kick Sauber) +1 Lap

DNF Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)