AUSTIN, Texas (AP) Red Bulls Max Verstappen raced to his third victory in four races Sunday at the Formula 1 United States Grand Prix, while McLarens Lando Norris took a huge chunk out of teammate Oscar Piastris championship lead by finishing second.
Piastri was a distant fifth, allowing Norris to pull within 14 points with five grand prix and two sprint races to go.
Verstappen is also closing fast with his late-season charge. Verstappen now trails Piastri by 40 points, and Norris by 26, in third place, and has put the McClarens on notice he intends to chase them all the way to the end of the season.
Piastri and Norris are trying to win their first career drivers championship. Verstappen is hunting his fifth in a row, and his dominant form of late has given him a real chance to get it. He also won the sprint race Saturday after the two McLarens ran into each other on the first turn and crashed out.
It was an unbelievable weekend for us, Verstappen said. The chance is there. We just need to try to deliver these kind of weekends until the end.
Norris late pass of Ferraris Charles Leclerc for second earned him a crucial position and points as he chases Piastri and hopes to hold off Verstappen over the final stretch of the season.
It was a good battle with Charles. He fought hard, Norris said. Well have to take second. No more we could have done today.
Verstappen started on the pole Sunday and was never challenged for the lead. He built a 10-second lead by the halfway point as Norris and Leclerc drove a furious battle for second.
Piastris day never got going. He started sixth and quickly made up a spot in the first few corners but was stuck there for the rest of the race.
Piastris lead is rapidly shrinking under pressure. He hasnt won since the Dutch Grand Prix on Aug. 31 and hasnt finished on the podium the last three races.
The series next heads to Mexico City, where Verstappen has five career victories at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.
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AP auto racing:
【美联社得克萨斯州奥斯汀电】红牛车手马克斯·维斯塔潘周日在F1美国大奖赛上斩获本赛季四站比赛中的第三冠,迈凯伦车手兰多·诺里斯则凭借亚军成绩大幅缩小了与队友奥斯卡·皮亚斯特里的积分差距。
皮亚斯特里以较大差距位列第五,使得诺里斯在剩余五场大奖赛和两场冲刺赛前将积分差距缩小至14分。
维斯塔潘在赛季末的强势表现中迅速缩小差距。目前他落后皮亚斯特里40分,落后诺里斯26分,暂列第三,并已向迈凯伦车队表明他将一路追击直至赛季结束。
皮亚斯特里和诺里斯正力争赢得职业生涯首个车手总冠军,而维斯塔潘则志在连续第五次夺冠。近期他的统治级表现使其极有可能实现这一目标。上周六的冲刺赛中,由于两辆迈凯伦赛车在首个弯道相撞退赛,维斯塔潘顺势夺冠。
维斯塔潘表示:“这对我们来说是一个难以置信的周末。机会就在眼前,我们只需努力将这样的表现持续到赛季结束。”
诺里斯在比赛尾声超越法拉利车手夏尔·勒克莱尔升至第二位,这一关键超越为他赢得了宝贵积分。目前他正全力追赶皮亚斯特里,并希望能在赛季最后阶段抵挡住维斯塔潘的攻势。
诺里斯表示:与查尔斯的较量很精彩,他拼尽了全力。我们只能屈居第二,今天已经尽力了。
维斯塔潘周日在杆位发车后全程领跑未遇挑战。赛程过半时他已建立起10秒的优势,而诺里斯与勒克莱尔则为争夺第二名展开激烈缠斗。
皮亚斯特里的比赛日始终未能打开局面。他从第六位发车,虽在最初几个弯角迅速提升一个名次,但此后便陷入僵持,直至比赛结束。
皮亚斯特里的领先优势在压力下正迅速缩小。自8月31日荷兰大奖赛夺冠后,他再未登上最高领奖台,最近三场比赛甚至未能跻身前三。
该系列赛下一站将前往墨西哥城,维斯塔潘曾在赫尔曼诺斯·罗德里格斯赛道赢得过五次职业生涯胜利。
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