Red Bull’s Max Verstappen won the United States Grand Prix sprint race Saturday to earn his first victory of any kind in nearly four months and keep McLaren’s Lando Norris from chipping away at his lead in the Formula 1 season championship.

Norris kept Verstappen in sight for 18 of 19 laps at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas after he launched from fourth to second out of the race start. But Norris made a costly mistake in the first turn of the final lap that allowed Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz to slip into second.

Finishing third instead of second cost Norris a critical point in the title chase. He now trails Verstappen by 54 points with six grand prix and two sprint races left in the season.

Verstappen is chasing his fourth consecutive title. He started Saturday from the pole and was never threatened for the lead.

Qualifying for Sunday’s main event was later Saturday. Verstappen has won the U.S. Grand Prix the last three years but has not started the race from pole position since 2021.

The once-dominant Verstappen hadn’t scored a victory of any kind since the Austrian Grand Prix sprint race back in June, and his last victory in a grand prix came a week earlier in Spain.

NFL: Cardinals rookie WR Marvin Harrison Jr. will play Monday night against the Chargers after clearing the league concussion protocol. The No. 4 overall pick in the draft was a full participant in Friday’s practice.

Soccer: Arsenal blew the chance to go top of the English Premier League with a surprising 2-0 road loss to Bournemouth on Saturday. Runner-up the last two years to Manchester City, Arsenal was limited to 10 men after William Saliba was sent off in the first half. Arsenal is a point behind Liverpool and level with City, having played a game more than its rivals, who both are in action Sunday. Meanwhile, Manchester United picked up only its third league win by beating Brentford 2-1.