The Latest Breaking News from Austin

Everything's bigger in Texas, according to popular belief and brass-plated belt buckles. While the on-track spectacle across Formula 1's sprint and grand prix races at the Circuit of the Americas largely did not deliver on such hyperbole, the post-race ramifications certainly did as the theatre ensued in the stewards' room.

Having fallen just 2.2 seconds behind Austin race winner Max Verstappen, Mercedes racer Hamilton plus sixth-placed Leclerc were then thrown out for running with excessively worn floor planks.

After dominating the Austin sprint race once he’d seen off Charles Leclerc and with Lewis Hamilton’s early time gains quickly reversed, Max Verstappen outlined once again why he detests these shorter contests.

Seventy-six laps were deleted in FP1 in Austin as drivers strayed beyond the painted while lines defining the edge of the track with all four wheels.

At the start in Austin, Verstappen and Leclerc moved away seemingly in unison, but the Ferrari gained in the start’s second phase.

Verstappen showed off his skills with an impressive spin save on Saturday.

The Austin event is one of the six events that were chosen to run the sprint format in 2023 – which features qualifying on Friday, a standalone sprint day on Saturday and then the main grand prix on Sunday.

The Ferrari driver had improved provisional pole position with his final run in Q3 in Austin on qualifying, only for Verstappen to pip him by 0.005s before he had his time deleted for exceeding track limits at the penultimate corner.

The famous Austin festival picked the Harbour City for its first foray overseas, bringing an eclectic mix of AI, celebrities and cutting edge ideas