After the Singapore Grand Prix, which ended with more regrets than satisfaction, Max Verstappen bounced back strongly in Austin. The Dutch driver secured his third victory since the summer break, taking advantage of McLaren’s mistakes. This win brought him within forty points of the championship lead and, most importantly, reignited his belief that the title is now within reach—though perfection will be required for the rest of the season.
Two weeks earlier, Verstappen had left Singapore with a sense of frustration. Although he managed to finish ahead of both McLaren drivers and collect valuable points for the championship, the disappointment of a missed win was still evident. As he had said before the race weekend at Marina Bay, perfection was essential to keep his title hopes alive, and failing to secure victory made his task much harder.
In Austin, however, the story took a completely different turn. Not only did Verstappen take another win—his third since returning from the summer break—but McLaren endured a difficult and inconsistent weekend, failing to make full use of their car’s potential. The double zero from Saturday’s Sprint race proved costly, handing Verstappen not only the race victory but also eight crucial championship points.
That may have been the decisive moment, as Red Bull did not appear to have a perfect setup for the short race. Certain limitations exposed the four-time world champion to pressure from George Russell, who eventually had to back off after overheating his tires during his attempts to overtake Verstappen.
Another key moment came on Sunday, when Lando Norris lost position at the start to the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc, remaining stuck behind him for more than twenty laps. Leclerc defended well, consistently choosing the ideal braking points, but the continuous duels and slower pace allowed Verstappen to build a crucial lead at the front.
Taking advantage of the situation, Max Verstappen opened up a ten-second gap, which proved decisive in managing the second half of the race on soft tires, where he risked thermal degradation. Without the time Lando Norris lost behind Charles Leclerc, the race might have played out differently, with the McLaren driver possibly able to challenge for victory.
The issue for Norris wasn’t pace, but the difficulty in overtaking Leclerc—partly due to the Monegasque’s strong defense, and partly due to McLaren’s limitations in certain sectors of the circuit, especially in the opening section, where the MCL39 suffered from dirty air. This combination allowed Verstappen to control the race and secure a crucial victory.
“It was a perfect weekend for us. I think the key today was the first stint, where I managed to build a small gap. After the pit stop, the situation stabilized until the finish line,” Verstappen explained in the post-race press conference.
“Tire management was very important, and it wasn’t easy at all. There were laps when the feeling and balance changed a lot, with more or less grip. It was one of those days where you just have to avoid mistakes.” Indeed, during the race Verstappen reported some difficulties with tire grip, particularly on the soft compound, which started to slide as the laps went on.
If Norris had maintained second place at the start, the race might have been very different. The British driver’s pace was strong whenever he had clean air. “In that case, it would have been a much closer race. Every time Lando had free track, we were practically equal—sometimes he was even faster,” Max Verstappen admitted.
The setup changes Red Bull introduced clearly worked, as the race pace was significantly better than in the Sprint. However, Verstappen admitted he wasn’t fully satisfied: “Today went a bit better, even if not quite how I wanted. But in the end, we won, and that’s what matters most.”
With this victory, Max Verstappen has increased the pressure on the two McLaren drivers in the title race. The Red Bull star has now reduced the gap to just forty points, recovering a remarkable sixty-four points from Oscar Piastri in the last four races, helped by the Australian’s retirements and weaker performances in the United States. It’s a turnaround Verstappen himself admitted he hadn’t thought possible.
“No, I would have said he was an idiot!” he joked when asked if he had believed in such a comeback after his home race at Zandvoort. “But we’ve found the right path with the car—it’s simple. Of course, we brought some upgrades, but mainly we understood where we wanted the car to perform best.”
“Every weekend we try to achieve that—sometimes we succeed more, sometimes less—but overall the last few races have been much more consistent. We need to be perfect until the end if we want a chance. We’ve recovered a lot, but the gaps are very small. Every weekend we must aim for perfection, and that’s what we’ll keep doing until the final race.”
The message is clear: Max Verstappen believes again. And when he is in this kind of form—especially mentally—he becomes an unstoppable force. As the hunter, he has nothing to lose, unlike the two McLaren drivers ahead of him. “We definitely have a chance to win the fifth title,” he said. “Now we just have to keep being this competitive and have more weekends like this until the end of the season.”
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