Max Verstappen is convinced that he is now very much in the fight for the world championship after his victory at the US Grand Prix. Following a dominant win in Austin the Red Bull driver was adamant he could still yet take his fifth title and was enthused at the chance to do so.
Verstappen won with a flawless drive from pole to flag at the Circuit of the Americas, and in so doing narrowed the gap to the championship leader Oscar Piastri to 40 points. In what is now a three-way title battle Lando Norris, who took second place, is just 14 points off Piastri.
Until this weekend Verstappen has been very circumspect in assessing his chances of competing for the title, despite winning two of the previous three races. However, after the victory in Austin he acknowledged that it was now game-on.
“For sure, the chance is there,” he said. “We just need to try and deliver these kinds of weekends now till the end. So, just try whatever we can. I think it’s exciting, and I’m just very excited to the end.”
The Red Bull has proved to be increasingly competitive in recent races and indeed had the edge on the previously dominant McLaren, but Verstappen also conceded that he and the team would have to be at the top of their game to overcome the deficit in the five remaining meetings.
“I know that we need to be perfect till the end to have a chance, so that’s what we just need to focus on,” he said. “It’s super close and just attention to detail will make the difference. Trying to get the best setup on the car every weekend and then try and not make mistakes, so that’s what we’ll try to do.”
1 Max Verstappen (Neth) Red Bull 1hr 34mins 161sec
2 Lando Norris (GB) McLaren at 7.959sec
3 Charles Leclerc (Mon) Ferrari at 15.373
4 Lewis Hamilton (GB) Ferrari at 28.536
5 Oscar Piastri (Aus) McLaren at 29.678
6 George Russell (GB) Mercedes at 33.456
7 Yuki Tsunoda (Jpn) Red Bull at 52.714
8 Nico Hülkenberg (Ger) Sauber at 57.249
9 Oliver Bearman (GB) Haas F1 at 1:04.722
10 Fernando Alonso (Sp) Aston Martin at 1:10.001
11 Liam Lawson (NZ) Racing Bulls at 1:13.209
12 Lance Stroll (Can) Aston Martin at 1:14.778
13 Kimi Antonelli (It) Mercedes at 1:15.746
14 Alexander Albon (Tha) Williams at 1:20.000
15 Esteban Ocon (Fr) Haas at 1:23.043
16 Isack Hadjar (Fra) Racing Bulls at 1:32.807
17 Franco Colapinto (Arg) Alpine at 1 lap
18 Gabriel Bortoleto (Br) Kick Sauber at 1 lap
19 Pierre Gasly (Fr) Alpine at 1 lap
DNF: Carlos Sainz Jr (Sp) Williams 5 laps completed
Fastest Lap: Antonelli 1min 37.577secs on lap 33
Drivers' standings: 1 Oscar Piastri 346pts, 2 Lando Norris 332, 3 Max Verstappen 306, 4 George Russell 252, 5 Charles Leclerc 192, 6 Lewis Hamilton 142, 7 Kimi Antonelli 89, 8 Alexander Albon 73, 9 Nico Hülkenberg 41, 10 Isack Hadjar 39, 11 Carlos Sainz Jr 38, 12 Fernando Alonso 37, 13 Lance Stroll 32, 14 Liam Lawson 30, 15 Esteban Ocon 28, 16 Yuki Tsunoda 28, 17 Pierre Gasly 20, 18 Oliver Bearman 20, 19 Gabriel Bortoleto 18, 20 Franco Colapinto 0, 21 Jack Doohan 0
Constructors' standings: 1 McLaren 678pts (champions), 2 Mercedes 341, 3 Ferrari 334, 4 Red Bull 331, 5 Williams 111, 6 Racing Bulls 72, 7 Aston Martin 69, 8 Sauber 59, 9 Haas 48, 10 Alpine 20
Piastri, who has seen his 104 point-lead over Verstappen more than halved in the last four meetings remained bullish that he could still close out the championship despite what is now a ferociously close fought battle.
“I’d still rather be where I am than the other two,” he said. “I’ve been in fights that were as close or at this point even closer than what they are now. So I’ve got the evidence for myself that things can still turn out well and I still fully believe that I can win the championship.
