Max Verstappen signalled his intent to reclaim Formula 1 supremacy after storming to victory at Sunday’s United States Grand Prix, completing a dominant weekend that reignited his chase for a fifth world championship.
The Red Bull star followed up his sprint win on Saturday with another masterclass in Austin, slicing McLaren’s Oscar Piastri’s lead to 40 points with five races remaining.
The result marked Verstappen’s third win in four outings and his 119th point from a possible 135 across the last five weekends.
“Yeah, for sure, the chance is there,” the 28-year-old said afterward. “We just need to deliver these weekends until the end. We’ll try whatever we can.”
While McLaren have already wrapped up the constructors’ title and shifted focus to 2026, both Piastri and teammate Lando Norris now find themselves under pressure, with Verstappen rapidly closing in.
The Dutchman, who sits third in the standings with 306 points behind Piastri (346) and Norris (332), credited his early race pace for sealing the win.
“On the first stint is where we made the difference,” he explained. “I could eek out a little bit of a gap and that’s basically what we kept until the end.”
With Ferrari and Mercedes also showing renewed form, Verstappen’s late surge has revived memories of Kimi Räikkönen’s famous 2007 comeback, when the Finn overturned a deficit to both McLaren drivers in the final race to steal the title.
As Red Bull celebrate a near-perfect weekend, Verstappen’s message was clear: the hunt for a fifth crown is back on, and the charge is far from over.
