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Verstappen Dominates in Austin as the Rest Play Catch-Up

Max Verstappen of Red Bull Racing after the F1 Grand Prix of United States at Circuit od the Americas in Austin, United States on October 19, 2025. (Photo by Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Max Verstappen did what Max Verstappen does — turned a 56-lap Texas showdown into a Sunday drive with a view. The Red Bull driver launched from pole, disappeared up the hill, and was never seen again until he was on the top step of the podium holding yet another trophy. Behind him, McLaren’s Lando Norris and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc did their best impressions of “almost,” while championship leader Oscar Piastri found himself stuck in no-man’s-land, finishing fifth and watching his lead shrink to 40 points.

From the lights, Verstappen’s getaway was as clean as a Texan steakhouse floor before the dinner rush. Lando, starting from the dirty side of the track — and yes, that’s an actual thing in Formula 1 — spun his tires like a rookie leaving Cars and Coffee. That gave Leclerc just enough space to poke his Ferrari’s nose in at Turn 1 and snatch second.

Behind them, it was chaos wrapped in carbon fiber. Lewis Hamilton and Piastri both mugged George Russell, who immediately dropped from fourth to sixth, while rookie Kimi Antonelli’s Mercedes got a bit too cozy with Carlos Sainz’s Williams on lap five. The result? Sainz went home early, Antonelli dropped to the back, and somewhere Toto Wolff probably threw another headset.

After a brief Virtual Safety Car, Verstappen began to stretch his legs — if you can call a 7.5-second lead by lap 19 “stretching.” Leclerc tried to play the long game on soft tires, but Verstappen was already halfway to the next zip code. Norris, meanwhile, was all over Leclerc’s mirrors, and after a few laps of frustration, he finally found a way past.

Leclerc dove for the pits on lap 22 for a set of mediums, popping out behind Nico Hülkenberg’s Sauber — which is a bit like stepping off a bullet train straight into rush-hour traffic. Piastri and Hamilton followed with their own stops, and by lap 33, Verstappen made his one and only trip to pit lane. He rejoined still in front — because of course he did.

That left Norris to chase down Leclerc again, which he did with the persistence of a mosquito in summer. By lap 51, with Leclerc’s mediums finally cooked, Norris used DRS to shove his McLaren past and didn’t look back.

The order at the flag was exactly what you’d expect in the Max Verstappen Era™: Max, daylight, Norris, a small country, and then Leclerc. Hamilton took fourth, Piastri quietly salvaged fifth, and Yuki Tsunoda delivered another overachieving drive to seventh in the RB. Hülkenberg, Ollie Bearman, and Fernando Alonso rounded out the points.

Verstappen, naturally, was calm about it all.

“An unbelievable weekend for us,” he said. “The pace between myself and Lando was really close, but that first stint made the difference. I could eke out a little bit of a gap, and that’s basically what we kept till the end.”

Translation: He gapped everyone early and toyed with them for 50 laps.

Still, with 33 points in hand and the gap to Piastri down to 40, the Dutchman isn’t exactly waving the white flag.

“For sure, the chance is there,” Verstappen said. “We just need to try and deliver this kind of weekend till the end.”

If he keeps driving like this, the only thing standing between Verstappen and another title might be boredom.

AUSTIN, USA – OCTOBER 19: Max Verstappen (1) competes in the Formula 1 United States Grand Prix at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas on October 19, 2025. (Photo by Jorge Salgado/Anadolu via Getty Images)

FORMULA 1 UNITED STATES GRAND PRIX 2025 – RACE RESULT

Pos. No. Driver Team Laps Time / Retired Pts.
1 1 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing 56 1:34:00.161 25
2 4 Lando Norris McLaren 56 +7.959s 18
3 16 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 56 +15.373s 15
4 44 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari 56 +28.536s 12
5 81 Oscar Piastri McLaren 56 +29.678s 10
6 63 George Russell Mercedes 56 +33.456s 8
7 22 Yuki Tsunoda Red Bull Racing 56 +52.714s 6
8 27 Nico Hulkenberg Kick Sauber 56 +57.249s 4
9 87 Oliver Bearman Haas F1 Team 56 +64.722s 2
10 14 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin 56 +70.001s 1
11 30 Liam Lawson Racing Bulls 56 +73.209s 0
12 18 Lance Stroll Aston Martin 56 +74.778s 0
13 12 Kimi Antonelli Mercedes 56 +75.746s 0
14 23 Alexander Albon Williams 56 +80.000s 0
15 31 Esteban Ocon Haas F1 Team 56 +83.043s 0
16 6 Isack Hadjar Racing Bulls 56 +92.807s 0
17 43 Franco Colapinto Alpine 55 +1 lap 0
18 5 Gabriel Bortoleto Kick Sauber 55 +1 lap 0
19 10 Pierre Gasly Alpine 55 +1 lap 0
NC 55 Carlos Sainz Williams 5 DNF 0
Greg Engle
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