US Grand Prix Recap: The Resurgence of Max Verstappen
- Rohan Singh
- 19 hours ago
- 3 min read
ROHAN SINGH - STAFF WRITER
Circuit of the Americas proved to be quite the interesting weekend for Formula One. As a part of the final quarter of the 2025 season, viewers were not expecting a lot of action, owing to the fact that McLaren has made the best car this season. Almost everyone had forgotten that Max Verstappen was still running for his fifth driver's championship title, and he put everyone on notice in Austin.
Verstappen and Red Bull Racing are rising like a phoenix from its ashes. With consistent performances and a streak of wins and podiums, Red Bull Racing is showing the grid that they are not going to give up so easily.
The weekend also brought forward good news in the Silver Arrows camp. After a long wait, Mercedes finally confirmed its lineup for the 2026 season: George Russell and Kimi Antonelli will be their drivers. Russell is going to stay with the constructor for what seems to be a “multi-year” contract.
Despite Red Bull's resurgence and Mercedes' headlines, McLaren would be the biggest story of the weekend on Saturday.
USGP Sprint: Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris Clash as a Result of “Repercussions” in the Papaya Camp
Once again, Max Verstappen was on pole for a sprint race. Both Piastri and Norris were gunning for the win as they tried to keep him from taking away the lead and strengthen their own championship chances. However, it seems that luck did not favor them at all in Texas. A narrow turn-in from Piastri at Turn 1 made him crash into Nico Hulkenberg, and he collected Norris’s car in the process. The McLarens had a double-DNF in the Sprint Race, allowing Verstappen to close on both in the championship.
Other than that, there was a lot of joy among the underdogs. George Russell was able to climb from P6 to P2 and drove a fine race throughout the sprint. Max Verstappen was constantly under threat from the Brit and was almost dive-bombed during the early stages of the race. Carlos Sainz found himself on the podium once again, after his heroics in past weekends earned him a P3 for Williams. Sainz was able to claim P3 again in the Sprint race.
United States Grand Prix: The Red Bull Completes The Charge With Verstappen Behind the Wheel
At one point, there was a 100-point difference between Max Verstappen and Oscar Piastri for the lead of the championship. Even Lando Norris was not looking close enough to claim the 2025 Drivers’ Championship. However, the past two months have brought forward some surprising developments in the championship standings. After the USGP weekend, there is only a 40-point difference between Max Verstappen and Oscar Piastri and a 14-point difference between the Papaya drivers.
A strong start to the season is turning into a big disaster for Oscar Piastri due to bad performances and consistent frustrations. The Papaya driver’s lead seems to be slowly slipping away. Furthermore, the strategies employed by McLaren are becoming a constant source of frustration for both their drivers. At this point, Zak Brown should simply ditch the “Papaya Rules” and let his drivers race without any restrictions. Nevertheless, they did manage to claim a P2 finish with Lando Norris, in spite of a botched pit stop which took four long seconds. The same can’t be said for Oscar Piastri, who only managed P5.
The highlight of the race was nabbed by the scarlet Ferraris. Charles Leclerc's defensive masterclass was the talk of the day during the United States Grand Prix. He tried his best to keep Norris from reclaiming P2 and potentially challenging Max Verstappen. At the end of the day, the Ferraris finished P3 and P4, which is a really good result for both drivers. They have been facing constant disappointment in the cars, and such a result sounds like a step forward in a positive direction. However, nobody was stopping Max Verstappen, who will look to continue to ride the momentum this weekend in the Mexican Grand Prix at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.