US GP: Five quick takeaways

Who is stopping Verstappen's title charge?

He couldn’t, could he? Well yes, he certainly could, because Max Verstappen is properly in contention for his fifth, consecutive Formula 1 world championship - a feat only achieved by Michael Schumacher.

One just needs to look at the gap he has reduced across the last four weekends because Verstappen left the Dutch Grand Prix with a 104-point deficit to leader Oscar Piastri. But now, after three grand prix wins and one sprint victory, it is 40 with five rounds remaining in which there are two sprint contests.

It might seem like a substantial gap, but considering what the Red Bull driver has already chopped away, then there is no reason to think Verstappen doesn’t have a genuine chance because everybody knows what he is capable of when in the best machinery.

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing

And right now, Verstappen does have the best car and when that is the case, nobody can touch him - remember 2023?

- Ed Hardy

McLaren's fight with Ferrari is a worrying sign for papaya team

The 2025 United States Grand Prix showed that McLaren has got itself into serious trouble. After watching Red Bull – and Max Verstappen in particular – pull ahead, the Woking-based team found itself fighting Ferraris in Austin rather than the Dutchman.

McLaren stopped developing its car earlier than its rivals. While the constructors’ title is already secured, that call may be costly in the drivers’ championship, where Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris are seeing Verstappen close the gap.

The fear of going into each remaining race expecting Verstappen to finish ahead could be compounded if Ferrari (or Mercedes) can consistently match McLaren’s pace, as happened in Austin, stripping more points away.

Charles Leclerc, Ferrari, Lando Norris, McLaren

With the title on the line, nerves are fraying. Internal tension and a dip in performance are allowing rivals to close in – and putting a smile on Verstappen’s face.

– Juanjo Saez

Piastri needs to bounce back after anonymous Austin weekend

Oscar Piastri has finished off the podium for the third consecutive grand prix for the first time this season. Azerbaijan was a tricky weekend – and possibly a one-off – with three crashes, while the race in Singapore became complicated when Lando Norris overtook him with slight contact at the start.

But this weekend was especially difficult for the championship leader.

Piastri was, on average, three tenths slower than Norris at the Circuit of the Americas from the very start of practice and was never able to recover. While that wasn’t a real problem in sprint qualifying – he was third, right behind his team-mate – it proved extremely costly in qualifying for the grand prix. Norris was again second, but Piastri could only manage sixth, with both Ferraris and George Russell’s Mercedes splitting them.

Oscar Piastri, McLaren

The Australian admitted that his feeling with the car had “just not clicked” in Austin, and this became even clearer on Sunday, as he drove an anonymous race to finish only fifth — his worst result, excluding Baku’s retirement, since opening the season with ninth in Australia.

Piastri’s difficulties coincide with McLaren’s dip in performance, but the fact Norris finished on the podium — and well ahead of his team-mate at COTA – shows the Australian needs to rediscover his earlier form as the title fight heats up.

- Federico Faturos

Isack Hadjar needs to be better for Red Bull

Time is running out for Red Bull to make the final call on who will partner Max Verstappen in 2026 – and it remains as tough a choice as it gets. Isack Hadjar is having a pretty decent rookie season in Formula 1, with a few highlights along the way in his first year with the junior squad, but overall he is still failing to prove he’s the complete package. And if Red Bull still plans to be a top team next year (some say they’ll struggle), it will need a top driver.

Isack Hadjar, Racing Bulls Team

The problem remains: across their four F1 cars they have only one truly top driver – and a bunch of good ones, including Hadjar. The French driver appears to still be on pole for that seat, but the worry is that he’s not yet fully ready for the challenge. Austin was another example. A crash in Q1 on the first flying lap is unnecessary – and enough to ruin the weekend completely.

This sort of mistake is understandable for a rookie, but it will be far more visible if and when he steps into Red Bull. There you simply can’t afford it.

- Oleg Karpov

Leclerc proves he has the making of a champion

It’s a shame Ferrari hasn’t stepped up this year, because Charles Leclerc is title worthy should he have the machinery behind him. Just look at today from start to finish.

Firstly, that move on Lando Norris around the outside of Turn 1 was brilliant and the sort of wheel-to-wheel racing one would expect from a world champion, but then look at his defending against the McLaren driver.

Leclerc made it hard work for Norris, always putting his car in the right places and, quite simply, just had the better of the Briton - even though he eventually made the overtake. But that wasn’t to be the end, as Leclerc regained second with the undercut and the way he initially made the medium tyres work against the softs of the McLaren was impressive.

Charles Leclerc, Ferrari, Lando Norris, McLaren

Yes he once again ended up behind Norris, but the McLaren driver took a long time to make the pass. All year Leclerc has been faultless, one of F1’s top three drivers - Verstappen and George Russell are the other two - and would not be making a hash of the title like the McLaren boys seem to be doing.

- Ed Hardy

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