Verstappen extends title lead over Hamilton to 12 points

Max Verstappen came out victorious from the US Grand Prix in Austin and extended his lead in the 2021 Drivers' Championship Standings to 12 points from second-placed Lewis Hamilton.

Despite Verstappen starting in pole position, Hamilton started off better and took the lead from the Dutch driver, while Sergio Perez held the third position.

However, after both drivers pitted, Verstappen gained a six-second lead and didn't lose the first place until the end of the race, finishing 1.3 seconds ahead of the Mercedes.

"Of course, we lost out in the start so we had to try and do something else," Verstappen said after the race.

"The tyre wear is quite high around this track, we went aggressive and I was not sure it was going to work but the last few laps were fun.

"A bit sideways through the high-speed corners but super happy to hang on."

Perez came third to complete Red Bulls' 200 F1 podiums and was followed by Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc, McLaren's Daniel Ricciardo and Mercedes' Valtteri Bottas.

"Firstly, congratulations to Max he did a great job today," Hamilton declared.

"It was such a tough race. I got a good start, gave it absolutely everything but at the end of the day, they just had the upper hand this weekend and we couldn't really have asked for more.

"A big thank you to my team, great work through the weekend."

In the Drivers' Championship Standings, Verstappen is leading with 287.5 points, with Hamilton sitting second with 275.5, Bottas in third with 185 and Perez in fourth with 150.

The next Formula 1 Grand Prix is scheduled to take place on November 7 at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez in Mexico.

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