Max Verstappen admitted the “chance is there” for him to now win this year’s Formula 1 world championship after his once-unlikely title comeback was turbocharged by a perfect weekend at the United States Grand Prix.
Verstappen followed up Saturday’s win in the Austin Sprint – the mini race in which his McLaren rivals crashed out at the first corner – with a comfortable victory over Lando Norris in the full-length Grand Prix for his third Sunday win in the last four races.
As championship leader Oscar Piastri struggled to a distant fifth-place finish, Verstappen’s maximum points haul from the Circuit of The Americas meant he took a massive 23 points out of the Australian’s title lead overall to move within 40 points of the summit.
Verstappen had been 104 points behind and seemingly well out of contention just five races ago after Piastri won the Dutch Grand Prix on August 31. There are 141 points left up for grabs this season in the final five race weekends that remain, with the Mexico City Grand Prix immediately up next this week, live on Sky Sports F1.
“Yeah for sure, the chance is there,” Verstappen declared of his late-season chase for a record-equalling fifth consecutive world title.
“We just need to try and deliver these weekends until the end.
“We will try whatever we can. It’s exciting and I’m very excited until the end.”
Verstappen admits Leclerc helped him defeat Norris
Converting his impressive pole into the race lead at Turn One, Verstappen’s chances of a fifth win of the season were immediately strengthened when Norris dropped behind Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc as the leaders exited the first turn.
US GP opening lap! Max Verstappen holds off Lando Norris as Charles Leclerc pounces early in Austin!
With Leclerc running an alternative tyre strategy to the other front runners, having started on the faster softs rather than the more durable mediums, Norris had to overtake the Ferrari twice during the race in order to ultimately reclaim second.
Verstappen ended up finishing eight seconds ahead of his British rival.
And the Dutchman admitted: “Today what was key was that first stint where Charles was basically holding up Lando quite a bit because that’s where I could make my gap.
“As soon as Lando was in clean air he was very fast, matching or being faster than us.
Lando Norris and Charles Leclerc rewatch their United States Grand Prix battle for P2 in the cooldown room.
“Basically that gap stayed more or less the same until the end, where Lando again of course had to pass Charles.
“We won today and of course we had a very, very good weekend. I do think we still need to improve a little bit in our race pace, but I take it.
“A weekend like this, not entirely dominant in the race, but we still win, and I think that’s very important.”
Mekies hails ‘extraordinary’ Verstappen as Max targets ‘perfect’ 2025 finish
Any doubt before the weekend that Verstappen was truly back in the fight with the McLaren drivers for the championship was certainly ended by his double Austin win, as he claimed two pole positions and led led every lap of both races.
He has now outscored Piastri and Norris in each of the last four race weekends.
Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies said: “Max has been driving at an incredible level.
“We have to probably admit we are witnessing something quite extraordinary and, all together [with the team], it has produced that turnaround.”
Max Verstappen says he is focused on being perfect for the rest of the season as he hunts down the McLaren’s in the title fight.
Now 40 points back – the equivalent of one win and a third place – Verstappen remains the outsider in the title hunt and insists he has no room for error.
Asked if he thought McLaren would have to end up prioritising one driver over the other to try and deny him the crown, Verstappen replied: “It doesn’t really matter what they do to be honest, it’s just up to us to be perfect until the end of the season.
“That’s what we have to focus on.”
Formula 1’s thrilling title race heads continues at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez for the Mexico City Grand Prix this weekend, live on Sky Sports F1. Stream Sky Sports with NOW – no contract, cancel anytime
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