Australian drivers Oscar Piastri and Daniel Ricciardo have finished lower than they started in the Formula 1 sprint race at Austin, Texas.

World champion Max Verstappen won the sprint from pole position on Sunday AEDT, beating Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari's Charles Leclerc.

Ricciardo, on his return to F1 after missing several race weekends due to a broken wrist, finished 12th after starting the race 11th.

The sprint was Ricciardo's first race since the Belgian Grand Prix in July.

The AlphaTauri driver was stuck in a midfield battle that he could not break from.

Ricciardo was able to beat his teammate Yuki Tsunoda who was 15th — a confidence boost for the Western Australian ahead of Monday's full grand prix.

Ricciardo was upbeat about his efforts in the sprint race, hoping it could be a building block for Monday's grand prix, where he starts 15th.

"I really enjoyed being back competing, it's a nice feeling. As for my driving, there were things I was happy about from the race

and others I wasn't so happy with, which are things I know I can improve on for tomorrow," he said.

"With the temperatures and the way the tyres are, the grip feels low, and especially with the mix between old and new asphalt at different corners, it affects how the car behaves.

Piastri started the sprint race from fifth after a promising qualifying session a couple of hours earlier but struggled to find pace in his McLaren.

He dropped down to 10th and out of the points, a change in fortune compared to a fortnight ago when he took victory in the sprint race in Qatar.

"I went through the tyres extremely quickly and they had overheated a lot," he said.

"So, not quite the result we wanted, but on the positive side we've learned a lot for the race tomorrow, which is where the majority of points are earned."