Max Verstappen - Photo: Race Pictures

F1 Drivers' Standings: Verstappen gains back precious points on Piastri

19:42, 18 Oct

Updated: 21:45, 18 Oct

byNorberto Mujica

Max Verstappen has won the Sprint race in Austin collecting all 8 points the P1 position yields. George Russell came home in P2 taking 7 with Carlos Sainz closing up the top 3 and reaping 6 points. Both McLaren drivers crashed out on lap 1, rendering them pointless in today's Sprint.

F1 drivers standings after the Singapore GP

Oscar Piastri (McLaren) – 336 points
Lando Norris (McLaren) – 314 points
Max Verstappen (Red Bull) – 281 points
George Russell (Mercedes) – 244 points
Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) – 177 points
Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) – 130 points
Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) – 89 points
Alex Albon (Williams) – 73 points
Isack Hadjar (Racing Bulls) – 39 points
Nico Hulkenberg (Kick Sauber) – 37 points
Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) - 36 points
Carlos Sainz (Williams) – 382 points
Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) – 32 points
Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls) – 30 points
Esteban Ocon (Haas) – 28 points
Pierre Gasly (Alpine) – 20 points
Yuki Tsunoda (Red Bull) – 22 points
Gabriel Bortoleto (Kick Sauber) – 18 points
Oliver Bearman (Haas) – 18 points
Franco Colapinto (Alpine) – 0 points

Starting from pole Verstappen defended well into Turn 1. However both Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris contact with each other, prompted by earlier contact with Nico Hulkenberg, ending with both of the McLaren drivers' races.

After that Russell mounted an attack on Verstappen which resulted in both drivers going wide. After the tense moment though, the Red Bull Racing driver managed to eep the Briton at arm's length and out of DRS range.

Ferrari drivers, Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc also found themselves fighting for P4 and P5.

GPblog's latest F1 Paddock Update

Want to stay up-to-date with what happens in the F1 paddock? Then GPblog's F1 Paddock Update video is the perfect way to do it. Subscribe to GPblog's YouTube channel and turn on notifications to never miss the latest episodes.