Max Verstappen held his nerve in fine style on Sunday as he took victory at the US Grand Prix, beating Lewis Hamilton home by a matter of seconds after a thrilling crescendo.

The two title rivals were largely in a class of their own at the Circuit of the Americas as they went hammer and tongs for the race victory, with Hamilton taking the initial advantage after jumping Verstappen off of the line.

Ultimately, though, the Red Bull had a little bit more pace than the Mercedes over the course of the race and that would be what would decide Sunday's result, though Lewis did all he could to bend things to his will.

A late charge from Hamilton sought to apply pressure on Max in the closing stages and lesser drivers may have succumbed to that, but the Red Bull man underlined his world-class credentials with a superlative drive to close out the victory and extend his lead in the Drivers' standings.

A great end to the race, then, and Verstappen perhaps typically cut a pretty calm figure post-race when reflecting on the late battle he and Hamilton had, with him saying it's something he has grown used to:

"I think I've been in this position before, where you're in the lead with older tyres, or the other way around, where you are hunting.

"I just tried to do the best I could, trying to be consistent and trying to find the grip within the tyre without damaging too much.

"It wasn't easy, but it made it, in the end, really exciting."

Formula 1 is in the midst of a truly epic title fight and once again these two superb drivers provided fantastic entertainment right until the 56th lap of 56.

An enthralling finish, and one Verstappen will be rightly delighted with.