The victory boosted Verstappen’s confidence in the car since he has not won any of the last nine F1 races – eight grands prix and one sprint.

Max Verstappen and Red Bull are in retreat as the Formula 1 season resumes in Texas. The series returns from a month-long autumn break at the United States Grand Prix with the Dutch driver still leading the championship.

Red Bull's Max Verstappen won the U.S. Grand Prix sprint from pole position on Saturday to end an eight-race losing streak and extend his Formula One championship lead over McLaren's Lando Norris to 54 points.

Carlos Sainz led team mate Charles Leclerc in a Ferrari one-two in the sole U.S. Grand Prix practice session on Friday with Formula One title rivals Max Verstappen and Lando Norris third and fourth.

Carlos Sainz is "surprised" by how well Ferrari performed during the sprint race in Austin. The Spanish driver is now optimistic for the rest of the United States Grand Prix weekend after previously expecting the car to struggle with the long combined corners.

Carlos Sainz headlined the sole practice session for the United States Grand Prix in a Ferrari 1-2, as Charles Leclerc was just 0.021s behind his team-mate. Leclerc had led the way in the hard-tyre runs in the opening half-hour of the session,