Verstappen declares ‘the chance is there’ for a fifth F1 title after dominant US GP victory
Max Verstappen's dominant display over the United States Grand Prix weekend has closed the points gap to Drivers' Championship leader Oscar Piastri even further.
Max Verstappen has declared "the chance is there" to secure a fifth Formula 1 World Championship after his dominant victory in the United States Grand Prix helped slash Oscar Piastri's points lead at the top of the standings.
Leaving Zandvoort in August, Verstappen trailed Piastri in the Drivers’ Championship by a seemingly unassailable 104 points. Four weekends later the Red Bull man is now just 40 points behind the championship leader courtesy of three Grand Prix wins and a Sprint victory.
The United States Grand Prix weekend was a prime example of the dominant form that Verstappen has display of late as the four-time World Champion led every lap in both the Sprint and Grand Prix, and he faced only a fleeting challenge in the opening laps of the former.
“It was an unbelievable weekend for us,” said Verstappen after claiming Grand Prix victory. “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 [Norris] 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.
“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.”
Verstappen's progress in the championship was aided by the Lap 1 retirement of both McLaren drivers in the Sprint, while Norris' battle for second with Charles Leclerc throughout the Grand Prix allowed a gap to appear in the opening stages on Sunday. Piastri lacked pace throughout the weekend in Austin and could only finish fifth.
Other than ruling out his title chances at the Spanish Grand Prix, Verstappen has remained relatively quiet on the topic, although McLaren has consistently warned that he remains a significant factor.
However, after hearing his display described as “a champion’s drive”, Verstappen was asked directly if he now believes that the chance is there for a fifth consecutive title.
“Yeah, for sure,” he answered. “The chance is there. We just need to try to deliver these weekends to the end of the year, so yeah, we’ll at least try whatever we can.
"It’s exciting, and I’m just very excited to the end.”
Formula 1 now moves on to Mexico City next weekend with Verstappen, Norris and Piastri set to do battle once again as the Drivers' Championship fight heats up.
