US GP conclusions: Unstoppable Verstappen sets off McLaren alarm bells
The biggest takeaways from the 2025 United States Grand Prix.
Max Verstappen turned the screw on McLaren with a superb performance at the United States Grand Prix.
Here are five big things we learned from a crucial weekend in Austin…
No stopping Verstappen
Verstappen’s dominant United States Grand Prix victory increases the pressure on McLaren drivers Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris.
After the Dutch Grand Prix, Verstappen was 104 points adrift of Piastri. In the four races that have followed, the Red Bull driver has managed to cut his deficit to just 40 points with five races remaining.
Verstappen was in total control of both the sprint and grand prix in Austin and stormed to two dominant pole positions, underlining the improvements Red Bull have made to their car.
The four-time world champion has renewed confidence, and momentum, on his side as he continues to fight flat-out in an attempt to pull off the greatest of all F1 title comebacks.
The points gap is still significant, suggesting that Verstappen cannot be the new championship favourite, but he has been here before and knows exactly how to deliver when the pressure ramps up.
Verstappen and Red Bull’s rebound has been nothing short of extraordinary and he is now firmly in the hunt to become world champion for the fifth time. Right now, he looks unstoppable.
McLaren - and Piastri - need to bounce back
With Verstappen blowing the title race wide open, McLaren are in desperate need of a reset.
Verstappen’s form will be setting the alarm bells ringing at McLaren amid their competitive regression, having seemingly lost the advantages they enjoyed earlier in the season.
In Austin McLaren concerningly ended up in a fight with Ferrari, rather than Verstappen, as both Piastri and Norris lost ground on the resurgent reigning world champion.
For Piastri in particular, a bounce back is required. The Australian has looked out of sorts since his nightmare weekend in Baku and has seen his championship advantage reduced over the past four consecutive events.
Piastri is being consistently outperformed by Norris and appears to be tightening up amid the mounting pressure. He badly needs to arrest his recent form slide or he will lose his shrinking advantage at the top.
A glimmer of hope for Ferrari
Charles Leclerc drove an outstanding race to take his sixth podium of 2025 with third place after a race-long battle with Norris.
It has been a hugely challenging and disappointing season for Ferrari but the Scuderia’s performance on Saturday and Sunday at COTA was encouraging.
Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton took third and fifth on the grid, which they converted into P3 and P4 at the chequered flag, with Ferrari having strong race pace.
Even though he set an unwanted podium record for Ferrari, Hamilton feels he has finally made a step forward with the SF-25 after equalling his best result since joining the Scuderia, despite a late issue with his car.
A first podium for Ferrari since July and gaining ground on Mercedes in the fight for second place in the constructors’ championship represents some much-needed relief for the Italian outfit amid the ongoing noise surrounding the team.
Mercedes brought back down to Earth
After George Russell's stunning Singapore victory, Mercedes were brought back down to earth in the United States.
Russell fell from fourth to sixth at the start and finished in that position, having been unable to challenge the cars ahead. Mercedes’ pace fell away in Austin, leaving the Briton in an effective no-man’s land.
The vastly contrasting weekends in Singapore and Austin pretty much sum up Mercedes’ story of 2025. Surprisingly fast and able to fight for wins out of nowhere at one race, before fading into anonymous obscurity for several events.
Mercedes’ consistent inconsistency has been a running theme throughout the ground-effect era since 2022. They will be one team happy to see the back of this regulation set next year.
Time running out for Yuki Tsunoda
Yuki Tsunoda’s Red Bull breakthrough continued as he enjoyed an encouraging weekend by finishing seventh in both the sprint and main grand prix thanks to some battling recovery drives.
Despite Tsunoda’s recent upturn in form, it appears as though the writing is already on the wall for the Japanese driver.
Red Bull are set to announce a decision on their 2026 driver line-up following next weekend’s Mexican Grand Prix, and it is widely expected that Tsunoda will lose his seat alongside Verstappen to Isack Hadjar.
It feels as though Tsunoda’s improvements are too little too late. Tsunoda’s future in F1 remains uncertain and there is no guarantee he will find a landing spot at sister team Racing Bulls.
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