Verstappen wins 50th Formula 1 race, Hamilton disqualified

At the US Grand Prix on Sunday, Max Verstappen, a three-time world champion for Red Bull, won for the 50th time in his Formula One career and matched the previous season record with his 15th victory. Lewis Hamilton was disqualified from second after post-race checks.

Charles Leclerc of Ferrari, who placed sixth, was also disqualified for significant deterioration of the required wooden plank under the car's floor.

Due to Hamilton's exclusion, Lando Norris of McLaren moved up to second place from third, with Carlos Sainz of Ferrari rounding off the podium.

Verstappen's third consecutive victory at Austin's Circuit of the Americas tied his previous record for most victories in a single season, which the 26-year-old Dutchman established last year, with four more races to go.

The constructors' and drivers' championships have already been locked up by dominant Red Bull and Verstappen, who began in sixth place and whose victory was the first in Austin by a driver not on the front row.

Norris, who started from the front row, passed pole-sitter Leclerc into the first corner, but by the halfway point, his chances of winning for the first time in his 100th start had diminished.

When Verstappen passed Norris with seven circuits to go, Hamilton, a seven-time world champion, started the final lap barely 1.8 seconds behind him. Earlier, he had been 5.3 seconds down.

Verstappen became just the eighth Formula One driver to record 50 victories as he extended his unstoppable lead over Mexican Perez to 226 points.

Verstappen can catch Sebastian Vettel's 53 victories before the season is done if he wins in Mexico next weekend, matching the record of four-time world champion Alain Prost.

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