AUSTIN, Texas, 16 October (H.S.): The Formula 1 championship battle intensifies this weekend at the United States Grand Prix, as McLaren teammates and title rivals Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris face a formidable late-season challenge from a resurgent Max Verstappen. With just six races remaining, the Red Bull driver’s recent string of victories has dramatically inserted him into a title fight that once seemed a two-horse race between the McLaren duo.
Championship leader Piastri holds a narrow 22-point advantage over Norris, but it is the four-time world champion Verstappen, 63 points adrift, who commands the paddock’s attention. After winning the last three Grands Prix, Verstappen has transformed what many considered a lost cause into a credible, albeit unexpected, bid for a fifth world title.
His formidable form at the Circuit of the Americas, where he has won three of the last four races, adds to the pressure on his McLaren rivals.The tension is amplified by the technical battle, with McLaren’s early-season dominance waning against a significantly updated and potent Red Bull.
Despite having already secured the constructors’ championship, McLaren team principal Zak Brown insists their approach remains unchanged. We are approaching this race in the same way as all the others, Brown stated.
However, the pressure is mounting on the drivers. Norris, who needs to outperform both his teammate and Verstappen to keep his title aspirations alive, has seen his early momentum fade. Piastri, meanwhile, is looking to bounce back after three consecutive races without a podium finish.
Elsewhere on the grid, Ferrari arrives in Austin amid reports of internal disarray and pressure on team chief Fred Vasseur, as seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton seeks to end an 18-race winless streak at one of his most successful circuits.
In contrast, Mercedes is buoyed by George Russell’s recent triumph in Singapore and the confirmation of Italian teenager Kimi Antonelli as his teammate for the next season.
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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar
