Max Verstappen came out on top in Formula One for the first time since June after Saturday's sprint victory at the United States Grand Prix.
The Red Bull driver claimed pole position for the 19-lap race in Austin, holding on throughout to increase his drivers' championship lead by two points over Lando Norris, who finished third.
That ended a nine-race wait for victory, across eight races and one sprint, as Verstappen led from start to finish, ensuring the momentum in the world championship battle swung firmly back in his favour.
Carlos Sainz ended second after Norris went too deep into Turn One on the final lap, though the McLaren driver fended off Charles Leclerc – who finished fourth – after a near-miss between the pair.
George Russell started slow but recovered to take fifth, one spot ahead of Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton, while Haas pair Kevin Magnussen and Nico Hulkenberg made up the top eight.
Red Bull had struggled amid Verstappen's winless run, but will now take confidence into qualification later on Saturday before Sunday's main-event race as he looks to extend his 54-point lead over Norris.
"It feels a bit like old times! I'm very happy. If you look at the whole race, Ferrari was also very quick," a relieved Verstappen concluded.
Norris was subsequently confirmed to be under investigation after the race for "driving erratically" in his final-lap battle with Leclerc.
Data Debrief: Red Bull redemption
With Verstappen's eight-point haul in the sprint, Red Bull have now managed points in 62 consecutive events, equalling the third-best run in F1 history (also Mercedes, 62, on two separate occasions).
Verstappen's next challenge will now be to end his eight-race wait in Grand Prix action for victory, which is his worst such streak since going 11 races without a win in 2020.
Top 8
1. Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
2. Carlos Sainz (Ferrari)
3. Lando Norris (McLaren)
4. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
5. George Russell (Mercedes)
6. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
7. Kevin Magnussen (Haas)
8. Nico Hulkenberg (Haas)
CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS
Drivers'
1. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) - 339
2. Lando Norris (McLaren) - 285
3. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) - 250
Constructors'
1. McLaren - 522
2. Red Bull - 483
3. Ferrari - 453
Lando Norris believes his 2024 Formula One season will be classed as a success regardless of whether he beats Max Verstappen to the drivers' championship.
Ahead of the United States Grand Prix in Austin, Texas this weekend, Norris is 52 points behind the Dutchman at the top of the standings.
Norris won his third race of the season last time out in Singapore four weeks ago, gaining seven points as he finished just ahead of Verstappen, who has won the last three championships.
But the 24-year-old has never finished higher than sixth in the drivers' championship, with this season marking significant progress whatever happens in the final six races.
As a result, Norris is conscious that success should not be defined by whether he and McLaren end the season with silverware.
"We're fighting against the best of the best but no matter what, it has still been a successful season," he said. "If I finish second it's because Red Bull and Max have done a better job.
"We started [the season] a long way behind. Everyone thought Max was going to have an easy win.
"For that not to be the case after the gap they had after race one, it's still a year to be proud of.
"But as the season goes on, you always reevaluate what are our expectations, and now we are a top team and fighting for drivers' and constructors' championships.
"I've been doing a good job. I have been happy with the job I have been doing and what we are doing as a team, and confident if we keep our heads down and keep pushing, we can close the gap.
"It's not easy, we need more than me first and Max second, but I can't change that, just keep my head down and focus on myself."
Given the current gap between Norris and Verstappen, the British driver will require other drivers to finish between them in the final races of the season to claw back the deficit.
Verstappen has not won a race since the Spanish Grand Prix in June, his worst run since an 11-race streak in 2020, and only finished second in three others.
Norris, meanwhile, only needs to earn two points in Texas to become the driver with the most points in the history of McLaren and surpass Lewis Hamilton's tally of 913.
Max Verstappen believes McLaren's Oscar Piastri is "too good" to be asked to support Lando Norris in his bid for the Formula One drivers' championship.
Verstappen leads the way despite not winning in his last eight races, but has seen his lead cut to 52 points by Norris ahead of this weekend's United States Grand Prix.
As the season has progressed, McLaren's improvements have been significant, and they lead Red Bull in the constructors' standings as they aim to win their first team title since 1998.
The British-based team are sticking to their general approach of having two equal drivers, though that has changed as Norris edges closer to clinching a maiden world title.
McLaren said they would prioritise Norris over Piastri in his attempts to end Verstappen's three-year reign as champion.
"He's definitely not a [number two driver] and if I was him I would never accept it," Verstappen said.
"For me, it's easy to talk, of course, because I've been in F1 for 10 years and it's Oscar's second season, so it is always harder to put your foot down.
"But he's just a great F1 driver who doesn't deserve it to give up wins and positions and play second fiddle because he's asked to."
Verstappen did, however, praise McLaren for their rapid rate of development over the past 18 months, and for how Norris and Piastri have proven a formidable combination.
Asked if the pair was the best driver line-up among Red Bull's competitors, he replied: "Yes, because they are closely matched and because they are both quick.
"McLaren has really put the right people in the right place, people that were already working at the team.
"The people there aren't all new hires, apart from people like [former Red Bull designer] Rob Marshall.
"But some staff have been given new roles, and you can see how quickly that can have an impact."
DRIVERS TO WATCH
Lando Norris – McLaren
After finishing second in Austin last season, Norris will be hopeful of going one better this time around to close the gap to Verstappen in the drivers' standings.
Norris has scored 912 points in his F1 career, all of them with McLaren. If he scores at least two more in the United States, he will become the driver with the most points in the history of the team, surpassing Lewis Hamilton's 913.
The Briton has scored 460 points in the last 30 races in which he has won points in the competition (15.3 average), eight points more than in the previous 66 (452 - 6.8 average).
McLaren will also be looking to extend their lead at the top of the constructors' championship, too.
They have had one or both of their drivers on the podium in each of the last 14 Formula 1 races. This is their second best-ever run in the competition (surpassing two streaks of 13), behind only the 19 between Australia 2007 and Malaysia 2008.
McLaren now have 18 podium finishes in 2024, their best record in a season since 2011 (also 18). In fact, in only four years have they achieved more (20 in 1998, 22 in 2000, 24 in 2007 and 25 in 1988).
Max Verstappen – Red Bull
Verstappen will contest his 204th race in F1 this weekend.
Twelve of the last 13 winners in Austin have started from the front row of the grid, seven from pole position and five from second, though Verstappen is the only exception, having won from sixth place last year.
However, the three-time world champion has now gone seven races without a pole position and eight without a triumph - his worst respective streaks since the penultimate round in 2020, when he went 17 qualifying rounds without a win and 11 consecutive races without a victory.
If either Verstappen or Sergio Perez scores points this weekend, Red Bull will have put at least one of their two drivers in the points for 62 consecutive races, equalling the third-best run in F1 history (Mercedes' 62 on two occasions; between Brazil 2012 and Russia 2016, and between France 2021 and Saudi Arabia 2024).
CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS
Drivers
1. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) – 331
2. Lando Norris (McLaren) – 279
3. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) – 245
4. Oscar Piastri (McLaren) – 237
5. Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) – 190
Constructors
1. McLaren – 516
2. Red Bull – 475
3. Ferrari – 441
4. Mercedes – 329
5. Aston Martin – 86
Liam Lawson revealed he has been set a target of beating Yuki Tsunoda to be in contention for a Red Bull seat in 2025 ahead of his return to the track this weekend.
Lawson will partner up with Tsunoda for RB at the United States Grand Prix in Austin after replacing Daniel Ricciardo for the final six races of the season.
The New Zealander returns to the grid for the first time in a year after deputising for Ricciardo for five races last season, scoring points at the Singapore Grand Prix on just his third start.
Lawson has the chance to impress again this time around, with a potential view of joining Max Verstappen at Red Bull next year.
It is no secret that Sergio Perez is under pressure. Since the beginning of 2023, the six-time race winner has scored almost 500 fewer points than Verstappen.
The Mexican has also failed to reach the podium in his last 13 races, with his best finish coming at the Miami Grand Prix where he finished fourth.
And Lawson has said that beating Tsunoda is the target Red Bull have set, with the 22-year-old aiming to give Christian Horner a headache ahead of next season.
“[The target set by Red Bull of needing to beat Tsunoda is] pretty much what I expected, they don’t want to see me going in there and seeing me outperformed for the rest of the year – but it’s always been like that,” Lawson said.
“With Yuki, we’ve been compared since we were 17 or 18 years old.
"He’s had a really good start to the season, and he’s been performing better this year than any other year but also the team has changed up a lot this year and is heading in a really great direction so it’s exciting to be part of that as well.”
“The conversations have always been in the direction of becoming a Red Bull driver in the future and that’s what I’ve said to them – that’s what I want to become, that’s why I joined the team and want to stay with them and join them in F1.
“That’s my goal and their goal, I think, is to have drivers to replace current drivers in the future at some point.
"That’s the goal. When that could happen, I have no absolutely idea. But I know it’ll be based on how I perform in the car.”
Tsunoda currently sits 12th in the drivers' championship, claiming 22 points so far this season, with his last top 10 finish coming in Hungary back in July.
Lawson will only have one practice to get up to speed this weekend in Austin, which is one of three sprint weekends in the final six races of the season.
Though he has had time to prepare for this moment, saying he knew during the Singapore Grand Prix he would be replacing eight-time race winner Ricciardo this weekend.
Lawson explained the difficulty of that particular race, but said a conversation with the Australian has stuck with him ahead of his return to the track.
“Luckily, he’s a great guy,” Lawson said. “He knew it was nothing to do with me. And that’s probably the thing with Daniel for the whole time we’ve been in this situation.
“Even for the last 12 months, it’s never felt like we were in direct competition as much as we all are in the sport in some way.
“With Daniel, it never really felt like that, he was always open to giving advice when I was driving. He was good to me throughout the year, in any way he could be.
“So, it never felt like we were in direct competition for a seat. We were also at very different point in our career, so that’s something that probably helped that.
“I went and saw him and said obviously sorry about this whole situation as it’s not nice, and sorry you had to go through it.
"But he said there’s obviously nothing against me, and he said ‘you get one shot at F1, make sure you take it’ – and he said ‘good luck’.”
Max Verstappen is confident that Red Bull's mid-season struggles are now firmly in their review mirror ahead of the United States Grand Prix this weekend.
Verstappen started the season with seven wins from the opening 10 races, with the Dutchman on track to claim a fourth consecutive world championship at a canter.
However, a combination of Red Bull taking a wrong turn with car development and McLaren's resurgence has seen the campaign take on a new complexion for the final six races.
Verstappen has gone eight races without a victory, seeing his lead in the drivers' championship cut to 52 points by Lando Norris, with Red Bull also surrendering top spot in the constructors' standings to McLaren after the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
For now, Verstappen is optimistic that Red Bull have turned a corner after they introduced an update to their floor in Baku.
“Yes, it felt better,” Verstappen confirmed. “That was already a good step for us. I do think we are moving in the right direction now.
"It will take some time. You can’t turn something like this around in one or two weeks. But I do think the team was happy with what they saw in Baku as well.
“Yes, I do think so to be honest," Verstappen added about their season struggles being behind them. "Hopefully we can continue to make good steps from here.”
If either Verstappen or team-mate Sergio Perez scores points in the United States, Red Bull will have put at least one of its two drivers in the points for 62 consecutive races, equalling the third-best run in Formula One history.
Red Bull are also 45 laps led away from reaching 7000, and would be the fifth team to reach this figure in the competition after Ferrari (15888), McLaren (11029), Williams (7584) and Mercedes (7255).
But that particular milestone could have come much sooner, with Verstappen saying he was surprised by Red Bull's dramatic drop-off after a dominant period on the track.
“In the beginning, I was surprised as well, but if you look at what our problems were, then I fully understand it," Verstappen told Autosport.
“At some point, we have gone in the wrong direction. The other teams have either not faced that particular point yet or they developed the car in a slightly different way.
"That is always difficult to assess.”
Lewis Hamilton was crowned Formula One world champion for the third time after winning the United States Grand Prix, on this day in 2015.
Hamilton, then 30, became only the second British driver after Sir Jackie Stewart to achieve the feat after edging Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg in a thrilling race.
Four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel, who would have kept the title race alive with three grand prix remaining had he finished second in Austin, came third.
Hamilton also became the 10th Formula One driver to win at least three world titles and went on to win his seventh in 2020 and joined Michael Schumacher at the top of the all-time list.
On a wet track in Austin, Hamilton started second on the grid behind Rosberg and made an aggressive start by pushing the German wide at the first corner to take the lead.
Rosberg slipped to fourth behind Daniil Kvyat and Daniel Ricciardo, but – as the track dried – the Red Bull pair lacked the pace to challenge and the race developed into a battle between the two Mercedes team-mates.
Hamilton trailed with eight laps to go, only to pounce on a mistake by Rosberg, who ran wide after losing traction out of a hairpin on turn 12, allowing the Briton to retake the lead and comfortably hold on for victory.
It was his 10th win of the season and sealed his third drivers’ title after previous successes in 2008 and 2014.
Hamilton went on to equal Schumacher’s Formula One record by winning four consecutive world titles in 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020.
Max Verstappen saw off Lewis Hamilton’s early challenge to claim victory in Saturday’s sprint race at the United States Grand Prix.
For the first time since their 2021 championship duel for the ages, Verstappen and Hamilton ran line astern in the 19-lap dash at Austin’s Circuit of the Americas.
But Hamilton was unable to prevent Verstappen from taking the spoils, and accumulating yet another win of this most one-sided of Formula One campaigns.
Hamilton took the chequered flag a distant 9.4 seconds adrift of Verstappen with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc third.
Verstappen, crowned champion of the world for a third time in Qatar a fortnight ago, took pole position earlier on Saturday and then put his elbows out at the start to ensure Leclerc did not sneak up his inside on the uphill drag to the opening bend.
Verstappen moved over to his left to squeeze the Ferrari man allowing Hamilton a clean shot at Leclerc on the exit of the first corner.
Hamilton ran over the kerbs and past the Monegasque, and then set his sights on Verstappen.
Hamilton has not won a race for nearly two years, the longest losing streak of his career. Indeed, 685 days have passed since he claimed victory at the penultimate round of the 2021 campaign in Saudi Arabia.
But for half-a-dozen laps here, Hamilton will have dared to dream that a victory could be on the cards.
Hamilton has triumphed six times in America – with five of those victories in the Lone Star State – and his early pace certainly provided Verstappen with food for thought.
The seven-time world champion stayed within one second of Verstappen to provide him with a possible DRS slingshot past his Red Bull rival.
“Driveability is not there,” moaned Verstappen on the radio. “I lost the rear completely.”
Hamilton then hinted his nemesis was gaining an advantage by using more of the track than is allowed.
“Max has gone off quite a few times,” said the Mercedes driver.
Hamilton has lauded the improvements from his updated machine, but the superiority of Verstappen’s Red Bull came to the fore.
Six laps had passed and Verstappen was suddenly out of DRS range. A slim hope of victory for Hamilton was dashed.
Yet the 38-year-old, who starts third for tomorrow’s 56-lap main event, will expect to be a contender again.
And his chances of a possible win will be aided by Verstappen starting only in sixth after his pole lap in Friday’s qualifying was deleted for exceeding track limits.
Lando Norris took fourth spot ahead of Verstappen’s Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez, with Carlos Sainz sixth.
George Russell finished seventh but was demoted to eighth after he served a five-second penalty for an illegal move on McLaren’s Oscar Piastri.
George Russell said he has banned himself from using social media and reading the news because it does not bring him any positivity.
The Mercedes driver has a combined following of nearly seven million on X and Instagram.
But Russell, 25, who was involved in a first-corner collision with team-mate Lewis Hamilton at the last round in Qatar, says he has stepped back from using the platforms.
Speaking to the PA news agency, Russell said: “I stopped using Twitter (‘X’) about six months ago.
“I work with a social team and everything that is posted is in my own words and is signed off through me. I want to stay connected with the fans. But I don’t use the app and I have started to do the same with Instagram.
“I respect that everyone has an opinion. But I don’t need to read the praise because that doesn’t bring me anything, and I don’t need to see the negative comments because that doesn’t bring me anything either.
“But when I stopped using Twitter (‘X’), whenever I was on my phone I was on Instagram, and when I stopped using Instagram, I thought I needed to look at something, so I started to read the news. But every headline was negative.
“Other than being informed about what is going on in the world, reading negative headlines one after another didn’t bring anything to me, so now I am totally off social media.”
Russell heads into the final five rounds of the campaign eighth in the standings, 62 points and five places adrift of Hamilton.
“It all stemmed after the summer break when I didn’t use my phone at all,” added Russell, who will line up from fifth on the grid for his 100th race in Sunday’s United States Grand Prix at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin.
“During that period when I had my family and friends around me, I had an average screen time of 15 minutes. In a normal week I have an average screen time of three hours.
“I saw a post that said, ‘if you use your phone on average for four hours a day, by the time you die you will have spent 15 years looking at your phone’.
“And when I read that, I was like, ‘Jesus I could spend 15 years of my life on my phone.’ I can do something wiser than scrolling through Instagram memes.”
Daniel Ricciardo is “ready to go” as he prepares to return from injury for this weekend’s United States Grand Prix.
The 34-year-old Australian has missed the past five races after he broke his left hand in practice for the Dutch Grand Prix on August 25.
Ricciardo, who took part in a Red Bull demonstration run in Nashville last weekend, will be back in his AlphaTauri cockpit for practice at Austin’s Circuit of the Americas on Friday.
New Zealander Liam Lawson, who has impressed as Ricciardo’s stand-in, will make way.
He said: “It’s good to be back! My hand is much better and the simulator was a useful way of assessing it.
“I tried it out in the week before Qatar, but I didn’t feel it was at full potential, so I spent the rest of that week in the UK, spending more time in the sim, and got to a point where I felt ready to go.
“My overall fitness is fine as I kept training as much as I could, although I obviously couldn’t do much with my left hand or arm for a while.
“It was definitely frustrating watching the past few races, especially as I’d gotten myself to a place where I was so ready to go again and race, and then I did two events and had to hit pause again, but actually, the time without racing went quite quickly.”
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Ricciardo was due to take part in only his third comeback race when he crashed in Zandvoort. He was immediately taken to the medical centre before he was transported to a nearby hospital with his left arm in a sling.
A subsequent X-ray confirmed Ricciardo had sustained a break to the metacarpal on his left hand.
Ricciardo was ruled out of the race in Holland and the following rounds in Italy, Singapore, Japan and Qatar.
Ricciardo was handed a second chance by Red Bull’s junior team AlphaTauri following his dismissal by McLaren at the end of last season.
Despite his injury, AlphaTauri announced last month that they have retained the eight-time grand prix winner winner for 2024 alongside Japanese driver Yuki Tsunoda.
Formula One has announced the venues for the six Sprint weekends during the 2023 season, doubling the amount from the 2022 season.
The Sprint moves the standard qualifying session to Friday, with a 100-kilometre dash on a Saturday deciding the grid for the main race on a Sunday.
For the 2022 season, four new venues will host Sprint events in Azerbaijan, Belgium, Qatar and the United States (Circuit of the Americas).
Interlagos in Brazil will stand as the only venue to have hosted Sprint events in each season from 2021, while Austria's Red Bull Ring featured the revised format last season.
Speaking on the increase of Sprint events, Formula One CEO Stefano Domenicali said: "We have seen a hugely positive reaction to the F1 Sprint events during the first two years of its running, and we can't wait to bring even more action to fans with six events next year, including our first US F1 Sprint in Austin.
"The introduction of the F1 Sprint has created a race weekend that includes three days of competitive racing action and brings more entertainment to fans of the sport as well as additional value for key stakeholders including teams, broadcasters, partners, and host venues."
Previously, Silverstone, Monza and Imola have hosted Sprint events but, for 2023, those races will have the regular qualifying format, along with the rest of the calendar.
Alpine have won their appeal against a penalty imposed on Fernando Alonso following the United States Grand Prix, meaning his points for a seventh-place finish have been restored.
A dramatic race for the Spaniard involved his car sustaining significant damage after a collision with Lance Stroll saw the Alpine rear up and hit roadside barriers, forcing him to pit for repairs.
The Haas team launched a protest after Alonso lost his right-hand mirror late in the race, and a 30-second punishment saw him fall to 15th place in the race standings.
The post-race complaint from Haas came, according to Alpine, some 24 minutes after the deadline for making such claims.
Now Alpine have succeeded in getting the penalty overturned by governing body the FIA, with two-time champion Alonso recovering the six points he achieved in Austin.
Ahead of this weekend's Mexico City Grand Prix, Alpine said in a statement: "BWT Alpine F1 Team thanks the FIA stewards for convening and reaching a positive conclusion on the matter involving car #14 from last weekend's United States Grand Prix.
"The team welcomes the decision made by the aforementioned stewards, whereby car #14 reinstates its seventh-place finish and six points from the race. We look forward to continuing our collaborative work alongside the FIA to ensure the racing spectacle is maintained to the highest quality. The team now looks forward to competing this weekend at the Mexico City Grand Prix."
Alonso sits ninth in this year's drivers' standings, one place behind team-mate Esteban Ocon.
Before the FIA appeal result was known, Alonso said on Thursday: "It was a rollercoaster of emotions for me on Sunday: I started at the back, then we were like P6, we had the accident; last again; and then finishing P7, and then in the evening, again out of the points. So it was up and down all day long."
Christian Horner hailed Red Bull's first Formula One constructors' title since 2013 as a fitting tribute to Dietrich Mateschitz, saying the late team owner "would have been very proud".
Team principal Horner saw Max Verstappen land a record-equalling 13th win of the season at the United States Grand Prix, and that meant Red Bull's team success for 2022 was assured.
Verstappen, already crowned drivers' champion, shook off the frustration of an extended pit stop with 20 laps remaining by delivering a terrific performance to pip Lewis Hamilton.
Mercedes, led by Hamilton's excellence, reeled off eight consecutive constructors' championships from 2014 to 2021, but now Red Bull are back on top, having previously strung together four titles from 2010 to 2013, in the Sebastian Vettel era.
The death of Mateschitz at the age of 78 was announced on Saturday.
Horner said: "It's been a hugely emotional weekend and that was the best possible way we could have won that race. Dietrich would have been very proud of that.
"To win the constructors' championship after eight years [without it] is incredible."
Commending Verstappen after the 25-year-old joined Michael Schumacher and Vettel as the only drivers to win 13 races in an F1 season, Horner told Sky Sports: "He just got his head down, and I thought there was only going to be one outcome of that race.
"There's a hunger within him that I've never seen in another driver. As he's growing and maturing, he's reading races incredibly well.
"He was obviously pretty upset after the pit stop but very quickly got his emotions in check, got his head down and paced himself so he didn't burn his tyres up, and was then able to get the passes done."
Mateschitz also owned the AlphaTauri team – previously Toro Rosso – and his death comes with Red Bull back where he wanted them, at the very summit of Formula One.
"I think this means everything to us," Horner said. "Dietrich was a very private man, but he was passionate about life and passionate about sport, and he had a dream which was to have a Formula One team and in the end he had two.
"He gave us all an opportunity, he believed in us, he backed us. This is for him, we're tremendously grateful for everything that he's done, for us as individuals, as a team, and we're going to celebrate in his honour tonight.
"He was a reclusive guy but when he turned up he'd be straight in the garage, there were no airs and graces to him, he was just one of the guys.
"I'm so happy he got to see Max retain the drivers' [title] in Japan, and the constructors', that's been a big one as well. We've never lost hope or never stopped fighting or believing in ourselves, so to be able to come back and do this is testament to every man and woman in the team, in the company.
"His legacy lives on, he empowered us to go and make an engine for the future. He was looking into the future and whilst he's not here in person, he's here in spirit and his spirit and the Red Bull spirit will live on."
Max Verstappen conjured a masterful drive to win the United States Grand Prix and deliver the constructors' title in style for a Red Bull team in mourning.
Setting aside his anger over a pit stop that went wrong 20 laps from the finish, Verstappen plotted a path past his rivals, overtaking Lewis Hamilton late on before streaking to victory.
Already the Formula One drivers' champion, Verstappen dedicated the team success to Dietrich Mateschitz, the team owner whose death at the age of 78 was announced on Saturday.
Speaking moments after his triumph at the Circuit of the Americas, Verstappen said: "It was a tough one. It was all looking good, but then the pit stop was a bit longer than we would have liked so I had to fight myself forward again. But we gave it everything out there today.
"Of course, it's a very difficult weekend for us, so this one is dedicated to Dietrich himself, what he has done for everyone. The only thing we could do today was win and even though after the pit stop it was not looking great, I gave it everything out there, and I pushed to the limit to come back.
"We had a big chance to win the constructors' here, and of course you want to do that in style, and I think we did that today.
"It definitely means a lot to me and to the team because he was so important to the whole team, so instrumental, and of course it will all continue, but we really wanted to have a good result today and this is of course amazing."
Hamilton had been hoping to give Mercedes a first race win of the year, but he could not fend off the advancing Verstappen, and once the Dutchman was past him, the result was all but a foregone conclusion.
There was cause for optimism for Hamilton, though, and the Silver Arrows should be serious contenders again in the remaining three races.
Hamilton said: "I want to give a big shout-out to my team. We came here with upgrades, we closed the gap a little bit, we were so, so close. I did everything I could to stay ahead, but they were just a little bit too quick today.
"But great strategy, great race by Red Bull, and again my condolences to the [Red Bull] team.
"I'm shattered. The car was a handful today. It felt amazing, firstly, to be in the lead. That's something we've been working so hard on as a team through the year and I felt so much hope, but it's okay, we'll hold onto that, we'll keep pushing, we'll try to give it everything in these next three. It'll come to us at some stage."
Max Verstappen's dramatic victory at the United States Grand Prix gave Red Bull the Formula One constructors' title, a day after the death of team owner Dietrich Mateschitz.
A record-equalling 13th win of the season for the irrepressible Verstappen, who already has the drivers' championship sewn up, secured the poignant achievement at the Circuit of The Americas.
Mercedes had monopolised the constructors' championship since 2014, but it has been a matter of time this season before they were dethroned.
Verstappen, hampered by an extended pit stop, slipped back to fifth place at one stage but roared back to the front of the field and produced a skilful overtaking move on Lewis Hamilton during the 50th lap to reclaim first position.
Mercedes had been chasing their first win of the season, but once Verstappen was in front of Hamilton it was game over. Verstappen and team boss Christian Horner dedicated the team success to Mateschitz immediately at the end of the race.
Charles Leclerc's Ferrari took third place, his first podium in Austin, with Red Bull's Sergio Perez fourth, Mercedes' George Russell fifth and McLaren's Lando Norris sixth.
Ferrari pole-sitter Carlos Sainz had the start of his nightmares, being overtaken by front-row rival Verstappen before the first corner and then spinning after colliding with Russell. Russell was handed a five-second penalty and Sainz's race was soon over as he came into the pits to retire, with radiator damage causing a water leak.
The safety car came out twice, firstly when Valtteri Bottas lost the back end of his Alfa Romeo and beached in the gravel on the 18th lap, and then when Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll collided, a flash point between the future Aston Martin team-mates.
Leclerc was a factor for much of the race, having done well to tear through the field after a 10-place engine change penalty meant he started from 12th on the grid.
A huge twist came with 20 laps remaining when Verstappen had his shocking pit stop. The world champion sarcastically told his team radio it had been "beautiful" but was told to focus on the race, and he subsequently showed why he and the team have been so dominant.
Verstappen matches Schumacher and Vettel
Michael Schumacher won 13 times for Ferrari in the 18-race 2004 campaign, while Sebastian Vettel won 13 in a 19-race 2013 season for Red Bull. Vettel was briefly a podium contender in this race but a 16.8 second pit stop scuttled his hopes.
Now Verstappen has equalled the single-season wins record Schumacher and Vettel shared, and as he said at the end of the race, he has "three more chances" to take the mark outright.
Aston thriller
The yellow flag came out when Alonso's Alpine ran into the back of Stroll's Aston Martin. The pair will be team-mates at Aston Martin next season, and as Alonso looked to overtake Stroll, it appeared Stroll moved to block the manoeuvre. That led to Alonso's car spectacularly bucking onto its rear wheels and running out of control before colliding with barriers.
Alonso was remarkably able to continue and reach the pits for repairs, but Stroll lost a tyre, amid strewn debris, and his race was over, with the stewards electing to leave it until after the race to pass any judgement.
Max Verstappen led tributes to late Red Bull co-owner Dietrich Mateschitz following his death at the age of 78 on the eve of the United States Grand Prix this weekend.
The Austrian, who co-founded the energy drink company and helped form its Formula One team in the mid-2000s, was confirmed to have passed away shortly before qualifying in Austin on Saturday.
Mateschitz, a sports fanatic whose company also purchased football clubs around the globe, helped establish their motorsport division as one of the leaders within F1.
Verstappen, who claimed a second successive drivers' championship this season and Red Bull's sixth in all, qualified second behind Ferrari's Carlos Sainz following the news, and paid his respects to Mateschitz.
"It has been hard news, I think, for everyone," he said. "What he meant [to] Red Bull, but also [for] the sport, and especially what he has done for me in terms of my career so far and my life, it is really tough.
"It has been a very tough day. Unfortunately, we missed out by a little [in qualifying] but there is still a race ahead and hopefully, we will make him proud."
Mercedes principal Toto Wolff - who began his own racing career with Red Bull - also paid tribute to Mateschitz.
"I was in a car that was sponsored by Red Bull, but I was proud to wear those colours as a junior driver or a GT driver back in the day," he added
"Being a Red Bull driver was something prestigious, and I was proud wearing the overalls and the team kit.
"What he has done in Austria for football, for ice-hockey, the racing programme - it's incredible. It's probably the biggest contribution in F1 of any single individual."
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