Lewis Hamilton CRASHES Out of United States Grand Prix as Charles Leclerc Leads from Lando Norris

A FERRARI double rained on the parade of Max Verstappen and Lando Norris’ charge to the title.

It truly was the Wild West on track from start to finish as Norris and Verstappen produced an almighty scrap as they battled nose to tail for third place for the final 12 laps.

The top two positions had already been snatched from their clutches as birthday boy Charles Leclerc capitalized on a poor start from pole-sitter Norris to cross the line in first.

Carlos Sainz took second-place eight seconds behind his team-mate but no one will care.

All eyes had been on Norris and Verstappen's all-out war with the Dutchman producing a defensive masterclass until five laps to go.

Norris overtook the Red Bull on lap 51 but went off the track and was slapped with a five-second penalty mean

The Texas rodeo continued as seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton was forced to RETIRE just three laps in after spinning off at Turn 19 and beaching himself on the gravel.

Norris knew it was pretty much do or die in Texas, given Verstappen soared to victory in Saturday’s sprint race and stretching his lead to 54 points in the driver’s championship.

Verstappen's world championship lead is now up to 57 points, having built it by five points across the weekend, while Norris' hopes of chasing down the Dutchman have been massively dented with five rounds remaining.

The McLaren driver, whose starts have been his Achilles’ heel, got off well but left too much space for Verstappen to bulldoze inside.

It is the fifth race this season that he has started on the pole but not been in the lead after the opening lap, having done the same at the Spanish, Hungarian, Dutch, and Italian Grands Prix.

The Red Bull ran Norris wide on the way out of the first corner, and Leclerc swept through to take the lead from fourth.

The other Ferrari, of Sainz, also nipped past Norris, leaving the McLaren in fourth.

McLaren reported the incident as they felt Verstappen pushed him wide, but really Norris was not aggressive enough and only had himself to blame.

Norris said on his team radio: "He pushed me off. He had no intent to make the corner.

"Even he went off the track. I had to avoid crashing into him or him into me."

There was a safety car on lap 3 as disaster struck for Hamilton who was forced to retire as he spun off and beached himself on the gravel on Turn 19.

It was the same spot his teammate Russell spun out in qualifying and there wasn’t much the seven-time world champion could do about it.

It prompted the first Safety Car since the Canadian Grand Prix in June and at the restart, Leclerc struggled to create a gap to Verstappen but managed to make it through the first corner in the lead.