With 6 races remaining left for the year, Max Verstappen of Red Bull Racing made sure to win the United States Grand Prix to solidify his chances of getting the Driver’s Championship.
Got that Early Lead
After dethroning the McLaren duo of Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris to win the Italian Grand Prix last September 7, the 27 year old Verstappen has done it again.
When the lights went out, Verstappen launched cleanly to hold the lead into Turn 1. Leclerc, starting on softs, managed to pass Norris to take second place, while Oscar Piastri gained a spot on George Russell to move into fifth. Further back, chaos briefly unfolded as Alex Albon collided with Gabriel Bortoleto, dropping to the rear.
By Lap 5, Verstappen had already built a three-second gap to Leclerc, who soon came under pressure from Norris.
Mid-Race Drama and Strategy Calls
As the early laps unfolded, Leclerc struggled to match Verstappen’s pace while trying to fend off Norris.
On Lap 7, Carlos Sainz’s collision with Kimi Antonelli brought out a Virtual Safety Car, forcing Sainz to retire and sending Antonelli to the back.
Racing resumed on Lap 9 with Verstappen comfortably leading ahead of Leclerc and Norris, followed by Lewis Hamilton and Piastri.
By Lap 14, Norris was back on Leclerc’s tail, complaining about “track limits” while the McLaren team debated a potential two-stop strategy. After a few failed overtaking attempts, Norris finally swept past Leclerc on Lap 21 at Turn 12 to claim second place. Meanwhile, Leclerc soon found himself in a close battle with Hamilton for third before pitting to switch to medium tyres.
As strategies unfolded, most frontrunners stuck to a one-stop plan. Norris pitted on Lap 33 for softs, followed by Verstappen one lap later, who comfortably retained his lead.
Russell also rejoined in sixth after his stop. By the halfway mark, Verstappen led from Leclerc and Norris, with Hamilton and Piastri behind. Despite concerns over tyre wear, Verstappen’s strategy was held strong.
Late Duel for the Podium
With 15 laps to go, the fight for second reignited. Norris closed in on Leclerc once again, sitting within a second of the Ferrari.
Both drivers were warned for exceeding track limits, with Leclerc’s engineer reminding him, “Keep the pressure on, he has three strikes.”
On Lap 49, Norris made his decisive move into Turn 12 to reclaim second place for good, while Leclerc began to lose grip and dropped back.
Behind them, Hamilton held fourth despite a suspected puncture in the final lap, just managing to keep Piastri at bay by one second. Russell finished sixth after a quiet race, followed by Yuki Tsunoda in seventh. Nico Hülkenberg secured eighth, while Haas rookie Ollie Bearman delighted the home crowd with ninth place. Fernando Alonso rounded out the top 10 for Aston Martin.
Liam Lawson narrowly missed the points in 11th, finishing ahead of Stroll in 12th. Antonelli staged a strong recovery to take 13th despite his early collision, with Albon, Ocon, Hadjar, Colapinto, Bortoleto, and Pierre Gasly completing the order. Carlos Sainz was the only retiree of the day.
Verstappen Extends Championship Lead
Max crossed the line after 56 laps with a margin of 7.959 seconds over Norris to claim his fifth Grand Prix victory of the season.
The win further solidified his dominance as he moved within 40 points of championship leader Piastri in the Drivers’ standings. Norris’ second-place finish brought him just 14 points behind his McLaren teammate, while Leclerc secured a hard-fought podium in third.
“It was an unbelievable weekend for us,”
- Max Verstappen
“I knew that the race was not going to be super forward. If you look at the whole race, the pace between myself and Lando was really close. Just in that first stint was where we made the difference and I could eke out a bit of a gap, which is basically what we kept to the end.” he added
“It wasn’t easy to manage the tyres for most of the stints, but we kept it in the lead and I’m just incredibly proud of everyone to be able to deliver a weekend like this.” said the 4x GP winner of 2025.
Norris on the other hand credited McLaren’s pace and consistency for another double podium.
The Dutchman’s victory capped off a strong weekend for Red Bull, who now look to maintain their momentum heading into the next round.
Papaya Brothers vs Verstappen for the Driver’s Championship
Max is now within striking distance as he earns +25 points in the US GP with Piastri only leading by 40 points.
Screenshot from: F1 – Driver’s Standings
While both the McLaren teammates have interchanged positions in the standings, Verstappen has constantly been that #3 guy for which could disrupt the title hopes of the already 2025 Constructors Champions.
“Obviously, Max is closing in and so is Lando, but the gap has not been comfortable at any point this year. Yes, it has been a bit bigger at certain points, but at no point has it felt like I could relax or sit back.” says Piastri.
The ½ member of the Papaya brothers finished last night’s race 29.678s off the lead, as well as retiring at Turn 1 of the Sprint in a collision involving Norris.
“Yes, it has been a bit bigger at certain points, but at no point has it felt like I could relax or sit back.”
To begin the Netherlands Dutch Grand Prix, Max was facing a 104 point deficit in the standings.
“My mentality hasn’t changed, and it certainly won’t now. I’m just trying to do the best job I can every weekend and naturally, the results will take care of themselves.”
Piastri ended the race in the 5th spot and only got +10 points. Meanwhile the Ferrari drivers Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton earned +15 and +12 points respectively.
Up Next: Mexican Grand Prix on October 26
The standings are getting tighter and the race resumes next week at the Mexico City Grand Prix on October 26.
