Max Verstappen defied Lewis Hamilton to win a cat-and-mouse United States Grand Prix at a sizzling Circuit of the Americas in Austin. Verstappen has been on easy street this season, but the triple world champion was made to fight for the 50th win of his career – becoming only the fifth driver to reach a half-century. Indeed, at one stage, Hamilton dared to dream of ending a losing streak which stands at 686 days and counting. Yet, as so often been the case this year, Verstappen’s speed in his all-conquering Red Bull machine came to the fore. He moved ahead of Lando Norris on lap 28 of 56 to all but seal the win. Hamilton might bemoan a questionable strategy decision which saw him lose 10 seconds to Verstappen in the opening round of pit stops. But in reality, he probably did not have the pace to stop the Dutchman from claiming his 15th wins from the 18 rounds so far. He crossed the line an agonising 2.2 sec behind Verstappen with Norris hanging on to the final spot on the podium. Hamilton could count himself unfortunate to drop from third to fourth at the start. The seven-time world champion enjoyed a decent getaway, but he was blocked by Norris under braking allowing Sainz to sneak through. Norris had seen off pole-sitter Leclerc with a lunge at the first bend to assume top spot. As Norris set about building a lead – already two seconds clear of Leclerc at the end of the second lap – Hamilton set about passing both scarlet cars. First up was Sainz. Hamilton used the tow to latch on to the back of Ferrari on the 210mph drag to Turn 12, and, assisted by DRS, drew alongside Sainz before sliding underneath the Spaniard. On the following lap, Verstappen, who started in sixth after his pole lap in qualifying was chalked off for exceeding track limits, relegated Sainz another place when he made his move at the same corner. Hamilton has won six times across the Pond – with five of those victories here in Austin – and the 38-year-old required only two laps to swat Leclerc aside for second. Deeper on the brakes at Turn 12, Hamilton sailed round the outside of the Monegasque at the left-hander, with Norris now three seconds up the road. Behind, and Verstappen was not finding it as easy to make progress. He was stuck behind Leclerc for an additional five laps before finally making his move on the Monegasque. He trailed Norris by seven seconds, and Hamilton by four. In the Mercedes garage, Prince Harry cut a pensive figure as he gnawed at his fingernails. The Duke of Sussex has been something of lucky charm for Hamilton. He was a guest of Mercedes when Hamilton secured his second title in the 2014 season decider in Abu Dhabi, leading the congratulations to his fellow Briton on the radio. Verstappen was the first in for new rubber at the end of lap 16 with Norris stopping the next time round. But Hamilton stayed out. Were Mercedes attempting a one-stopper? Hamilton did not seem convinced. Asked if he could complete another five laps on his current set of tyres, Hamilton replied: “I am not sure, man. It is pretty tough.” You have given me a hell of a gap to close Lewis Hamilton on the team radio Hamilton then locked up before his race engineer Peter Bonnington was back on the intercom to inform Hamilton that Verstappen – who on new tyres had just lapped three seconds faster than the Briton – was now likely to gazump him when he eventually stopped. “No s***, man,” yelled Hamilton. “I am struggling out here.” On lap 20, in came Hamilton, and a slow front-right tyre change added to his woes by costing him a needless second. When Hamilton emerged from the pits, he had dropped to third, five seconds adrift of Verstappen. “I came out so far behind,” he said with a hint of dejection. When the opening stops were completed, Norris led Verstappen by 2.4 sec with Hamilton 7.5 off the lead. By virtue of taking on another set of mediums, Verstappen had to stop again, but Norris and Hamilton – now both on the hards – could, if their rubber allowed, go all the way to the end. Hamilton, failing to make any inroads and sensing his best chance of ending a 22-month winning streak had faded, expressed his frustrations. “You have given me a hell of a gap to close,” he said. On lap 28, Verstappen dived underneath Norris for the lead at Turn 12. Norris had a nibble back at the Red Bull heading into the ensuing right hander, but he failed to make it stick. The question now was whether Norris, and indeed Hamilton – now less than five seconds off the lead – could make their tyres last. The answer arrived on lap 34 when Norris dived in for a fresh set of boots. Verstappen followed in on lap 35, and despite, a slow left-rear tyre change, retained his position ahead of Norris. Three laps later and Hamilton was in, changing to the faster medium compound. Hamilton had the bit between his teeth and within 10 laps he was crawling all over the back of Norris’ McLaren. Norris slung his McLaren to the inside on the entry to the first corner in a move to stop Hamilton, but the older Brit gained better traction out of the corner to slingshot by in his Mercedes. Verstappen was five seconds ahead and Hamilton started to reel his old nemesis in only to run out of laps. Sainz took fourth ahead of Sergio Perez with Leclerc sixth and George Russell seventh for Mercedes. Read More I can do something wiser with my time – George Russell stops using social media Charles Leclerc snatches pole position after Max Verstappen’s lap was deleted Daniel Ricciardo ready for AlphaTauri return at United States Grand Prix On this day in 2009: Jenson Button crowned Formula One world champion in Brazil FIA to review Qatar GP as ‘dangerous’ temperatures prompt driver complaints F1 United States Grand Prix LIVE: Race updates and results in Austin

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Pretzels, or brezel or brezen in German, are the most iconic German food. Ornaments of pretzels adorn every bakery, and images of them can be found on medieval church windows in Freiburg, where I come from,” says former contestant on The Great British Bake Off, Jurgen Krauss. “Often, a pretzel works better as a soother for an upset baby than a dummy. They are a part of my upbringing and heritage. And still, there is no better snack after a long shopping spree through my hometown of Freiburg than a brezel from the bakery at the tram stop. “Disclaimer about lye: I am giving two options for the finish. One is using lye, which involves a very dangerous chemical, solid sodium hydroxide. The other option uses baking soda, which is bicarbonate of soda, and is not dangerous at all. The results are different in colour and taste, but without a direct comparison, the bicarbonate of soda pretzel can stand its ground. If you intend to use lye, I’d recommend baking a few batches of pretzels with bicarbonate of soda, but treat it as if it was lye, to practise the handling and have everything in the right place before starting.” Soft pretzel Makes: 8-10 Ingredients: For the starter: 100g bread flour 2g salt 1⁄8 tsp instant yeast 65ml water For the dough: 400g bread flour 9g salt 20g honey 5g instant yeast 25g unsalted butter, room temperature 180ml water Coarse salt crystals, for sprinkling For the lye or bicarb dipping solution: 2L water 8g salt 80g bicarbonate of soda or 80g sodium hydroxide pellets Method: 1. Prepare the starter the day before baking. Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and mix with your hand or a spatula until all the flour is incorporated. Cover with clingfilm and leave to stand at room temperature for about two hours. Then put the starter in the fridge overnight until you need it – it will be good to use for up to three days. 2. About one hour before making the main dough, take the starter out of the fridge. 3. To make the main dough, combine all the ingredients except the salt crystals and the starter in a bowl and mix with your hand or a spatula. The resulting dough will be very stiff. Knead the dough on a work surface for about 10 minutes. Don’t use any additional flour, you won’t need it anyway. The resulting dough should be smooth and a bit elastic. Put the dough into a bowl, cover and prove at room temperature for about two hours. Fold the dough once after one hour. 4. Meanwhile, prepare the dipping solution. Use a big stainless-steel pan and stainless-steel spoons for dipping. Cover your normal work surfaces in case the lye spills. When dipping, keep the baking sheets very close to the lye pan and the oven. Always wear protective gloves and goggles when working with sodium hydroxide and lye. Never ever touch sodium hydroxide pellets with your skin. 5. If using bicarbonate of soda, bring the water to boil. Switch off the heat, add the salt and stir. Then add the bicarbonate of soda – there will be a bit of frothing and splashing, so be careful. Leave to cool. 6. If using sodium hydroxide, put the water in the pan and then add the sodium hydroxide pellets. Sodium hydroxide creates a lot of heat when it dissolves. 7. Once the dough has proved, divide it into pieces weighing 85 grams each. Roll each piece of dough into a cylinder. Once all the pieces have been rolled, start again with the first piece, to roll it into a long strand with thin ends and a belly in the middle. Aim for a length of 60 centimetres. Make sure you don’t tear your strands – if there is too much resistance in the dough, move on to the next strand. You will need several cycles to reach the length required. 8. Now shape the pretzels – the bakers use a slinging method, but there is a simpler, slower way to do this. Make sure the ends of the little arms are well attached to the middle bit. 9. Place the pretzels onto lined baking trays, cover and leave to prove at room temperature for about 45 minutes. Uncover the pretzels and put them in the fridge for 30 minutes, so that a skin can form. Preheat the oven to 230C fan/gas mark 9. 10. Take the pretzels out of the fridge. Dip each pretzel in lye or sodium carbonate solution for about five seconds. Transfer the pretzel back onto the lined baking sheet. One sheet will hold four to five pretzels. Once the sheet is full, slash the thickest part of the pretzels with a sharp serrated knife and sprinkle with salt crystals. Transfer to the oven immediately and bake for 12–15 minutes. Leave to cool on a wire rack. Repeat with the remaining pretzels. 11. Because of the salt, these pretzels are best eaten fresh. ‘German Baking: Cakes, Tarts, Traybakes And Breads From The Black Forest And Beyond’ by Jurgen Krauss (published by Kyle Books on 31 August, £26). 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