Four-time defending World Drivers’ champion Max Verstappen dominated the Formula 1 United States Grand Prix on Sunday at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, with a wire-to-wire victory that reestablished his presence in the championship race with less than two months remaining in the season.
Verstappen entered the weekend as a longshot to win a fifth consecutive title, behind both McLaren frontrunners Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris. Verstappen’s dominance on Sunday, following a timely sprint victory where neither McLaren finished on Saturday, has breathed life into his attempt to match Michael Schumacher’s historic five-peat (2000-04).
“It was an unbelievable weekend for us,” Verstappen said on the podium. “I knew that the race was, of course, not going to be super straightforward. I think if you look at the whole race, the pace between myself and Lando was really close. I think just in that first stint, that’s where we made the difference.
“I could eke out a little bit of a gap and that’s basically what we kept till the end. It wasn’t easy to manage the tires for most of the stints, but we kept it in the lead and just incredibly proud of everyone to deliver a weekend like this.”
Norris, who earned the No. 2 spot on the podium, crossed the finish line nearly eight seconds behind Verstappen. Piastri entered the weekend with a 19-point lead over Norris, but a fifth-place finish for the Australian, combined with Norris’ podium finish, has shrunk that advantage to just 14 points.
After Sunday, Verstappen will continue to lurk in the background of a championship that was previously assumed to be a two-man battle between McLaren rivals.
The 28-year-old Dutchman is just 26 points behind Norris for second place in the standings and 40 points behind Piastri. With five Grand Prix remaining, it’s still an uphill battle for Verstappen. However, his presence in the championship race can no longer be discounted after his stateside dominance.
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc rounded out the podium with a third-place finish after Norris passed him for second place on Lap 51.
“It was a good battle with Charles,” Norris said. “He fought hard, and it was tough. We did everything we could. I thought we kind of had it in an easier way after we got ahead and then we did the overcut, or we went much longer.
“I expected a slightly easier second attempt to get through, but it wasn’t the case. Charles drove a very good race. It was good fun. Good battles. I had to take second. Not a lot more we could have done today.”
Controversy between Williams’ Carlos Sainz and Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli occurred on Lap 7, as Sainz induced the virtual safety car by dive-bombing Antonelli on a turn. The move took Sainz out and sent Antonelli to 19th, only ahead of Sainz’s Williams teammate Alex Albon, who was spun by Stake’s Gabriel Bortoleto without the safety car deploying moments earlier.
–Field Level Media
