Leclerc wins US Grand Prix in Ferrari 1-2, Piastri 5th

Charles Leclerc has won the US Grand Prix in a Ferrari one-two with Carlos Sainz as Max Verstappen dealt Lando Norris a significant setback in the Formula One title battle after a thrilling duel between the two.

The race at Austin's Circuit of the Americas saw a thrilling late duel between the championship contenders end in controversy, with McLaren's Norris overtaking his rival for third place but then being collecting a five-second penalty.

Verstappen's podium left him 57 points clear with five rounds remaining.

Norris had passed Verstappen four laps from the end, after hunting his Dutch rival down on fresher tyres, but was penalised for going off the track and gaining an advantage.

The overtake, and the stewards' reaction, provided a major talking point.

"It's a momentum killer. But we came in here with our mind open, not expecting to dominate or just win or anything," said Norris, who had started on pole position.

"The one guy I need to beat is Max and that's the guy I didn't beat today. It was a non-successful weekend, all in all. But we gave it a good shot. I tried," he added.

"It wasn't good enough and we have work to do and I have work to do myself."

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

Nico Hulkenberg scored precious points for US-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, having replaced Australian driver Daniel Ricciardo after last month's Singapore race.

Leclerc's win, his third of the season after Monaco and Monza, ended Verstappen's run of three successive US Grand Prix wins at Austin's Circuit of the Americas and left Ferrari only eight points adrift of Red Bull.

"One-two for the team. We couldn't have dreamt for better," he said.

"We did a great job. The pace of the car was really good. That's thanks to the engineers. They have been working like crazy to bring upgrades that we had in Singapore and the last few races. It seems to be paying off."

Although Verstappen won the Saturday 100km sprint from pole, collecting the maximum eight points, his losing Sunday streak extended to nine grands prix going back to Spain in June.

That was a mere detail however, with the real focus on the battle with Norris.

"That was a hard race. I tried everything with the defending. That was fun. It's just a bit weird that you can overtake outside the track," Verstappen said over the team radio.

Norris made a quick getaway at the start but was then forced wide at the uphill first corner with Verstappen gaining a place while Leclerc overtook both on the inside and Sainz followed through in third.

The McLaren driver complained over the team radio about that 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."

It was just the start of a scrap they would rejoin late in the race.

Verstappen said he "enjoyed the battle today" and had little sympathy for Norris losing the podium. The Dutchman noted he was stripped of a podium finish in Austin in 2017 for a pass that was determined to be illegal.

"I just tried to remain calm and bring the car to the end," Verstappen said.

That was key. Norris' pace late in the race was good enough that he could have given the place back to Verstappen and tried to pass him again.

Instead, Norris chose to try to stretch the gap ahead of Verstappen to more than five seconds to nullify the penalty. He only got to 4.1 seconds.

"He defends by going off-track, he overtakes by going off-track. But I'm not going to complain. Max drove well and he defended well, we had a good race together. But the rules are the rules." Norris told Sky Sport F1.