FACTS AND STATS: Hamilton's best Sprint result for over two years as the Mercedes man takes second

Saturday was all about the Sprint in Austin, and it saw Max Verstappen return to the top of the timing sheets. First the Dutchman grabbed pole in the Shootout, and then he converted that into an emphatic Sprint victory, his third of the year. Here are the best facts and stats from the penultimate Sprint of the 2023 season…

• Max Verstappen scored his sixth Sprint win in 11 events, and also clinched the unofficial ‘Sprint Championship’ this season.

• The Dutchman leads start to finish in a Sprint for the second time this year after the Red Bull Ring. He’s also led five Grands Prix start to finish in 2023.

• Lewis Hamilton came home second, and he has still yet to win a Sprint. It was his best result in the format since he came second in the inaugural event at Silverstone in 2021. This was also his first top four in a Sprint this season.

READ MORE: Verstappen dominates to beat Hamilton and Leclerc to victory in Austin Sprint

• Charles Leclerc was third, his best Sprint finish since he was second in Baku.

• Lando Norris finished P4, scoring back-to-back top four finishes in Sprint events.

• Sergio Perez was fifth, scoring his first Sprint points since Austria. He also scored more points in this Sprint than the previous two race weekends combined.

• Carlos Sainz finished sixth and is one of three drivers to have scored in every Sprint this season. The other two are Verstappen and Russell.

• Pierre Gasly was seventh, and those points jumped him ahead of Lance Stroll in the drivers’ standings.

• George Russell was awarded a five-second time penalty, which dropped him from seventh at the flag to eighth. He beat Alex Albon to the last point by just 0.317s.

READ MORE: Sargeant has had it tough in his rookie F1 season – but can he deliver in the remaining races?

• That result also means Russell keeps his record of only finishing fourth or eighth in Sprint events this season.

• Albon has managed three top 10 finishes in Sprint this season but has only managed to score in one when he finished seventh in Lusail.

• Oscar Piastri’s Sprint run ended with a P10 finish, after coming home first and second in the last two events.

• Fernando Alonso was the only driver in the top 8 in the drivers’ championship not to score today.