Can Max Verstappen trump McLaren duo for F1 2025 title?
What's the story
Max Verstappen of Red Bull Racing enjoyed a solid race at the United States Grand Prix. The Dutchman was superb at the Circuit of the Americas, cutting Oscar Piastri's championship lead to 40 points. Notably, Lando Norris of McLaren finished second with Scuderia Ferrarri's Charles Leclerc finishing third. Norris' teammate and current championship leader Piastri took 5th place. The victory for Verstappen also marked a significant moment in the ongoing championship battle between him and the McLaren duo.
Max
Verstappen claims his 68th race win and 122nd podium
Verstappen led the race from start to finish, finishing 7.959 seconds ahead of 2nd-placed Norris. The win was his fourth in Texas, seventh on American soil, and fifth this year. Verstappen sealed his 10th podium finish this year and this includes 5 races wins as mentioned. Overall, Verstappen clocked his 68th career victory in Formula 1. He also owns 122 podium finishes.
Post-race comments
'Now we have a chance to be there' - Verstappen
After the race, Verstappen said, "It's been an unbelievable weekend for us. I knew it wouldn't be straightforward and the pace between us was close. But my first stint did it for me." He added, "Now we have a chance to be there (in the title race) and we just have to keep delivering like that in all the weekends to the end of the season and see what happens. It's exciting."
Information
15th podium finish for Norris this season
Norris' last win came in Hungary. Since then, he has gone 5 races without a win. During this time, he has bagged three podium finishes (Italy, Singapore and USA). Overall, Norris owns 15 podium finishes this season from 19 races. Meanwhile, he has 41 career podiums for McLaren.
Standings
A three-way battle for the title
McLaren's Piastri leads the 2025 Driver Standings with 346 points from 19 races. Piastri has won 7 races this season and owns 14 podium finishes. He is followed by Norris, who has 332 points. As mentioned, Norris has 15 podium finishes this season. He owns 5 race wins. Red Bull Racing's Verstappen has breached the 300-point barrier. He has collected 306 points and is behind the McLaren duo. Verstappen owns 10 podium finishes and 5 race wins this year.
Information
5 races to go in this season
There are 5 races left this season. This month end has the Mexican GP. November marks the Brazilian GP, Las Vegas GP and Qatar GP. The final race is the Abu Dhabi GP in December.
Momentum
Is the momentum with Verstappen?
One can say the momentum has shifted over the last 5 races. And now with 5 races to go in this business end of the F1 2025 season, Verstappen can work his magic. The last 5 races witnessed Verstappen making a surge. He claimed 2nd place at the Dutch GP on August 31. In September, he won successive races in Italy and Azerbaijan. This month, he took 2nd place in Singapore and now a top position in USA.