What seemed unthinkable a few rounds back now looks like a real possibility. Max Verstappen's momentum, winning three of the four Formula 1 Grand Prix and outplacing the McLaren drivers Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris in those four races, means that the fight for the 2025 Formula 1 title could be very tight during the five remaining races.
In the United States, Verstappen won Sprint Race, Pole Position, and Grand Prix. Lando Norris, still second in the general classification, was second, and Charles Leclerc was third, grabbing the third podium for Ferrari since Belgian GP in July, six races ago.
The season has been dominated by Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris. But Verstappen's streak of wins, and McLaren's growing number of team errors, like Norris crashing into Piastri in Indonesia, and then Piastri crashing into Norris on Saturday in the sprint race, taking them out of the race, means that Verstappen has closed a gap with the lead (Piastri) that was as big as 104 points after the Dutch Grand Prix, four rounds ago, to only 40 after the United States Grand Prix. And there are five races remaining...
Formula 1 2025 top three after United States Grand Prix
Oscar Piastri: 346 points
Lando Norris: 332 points
Max Verstappen: 306 points
Now, a victory for either three seems possible, but Verstappen, while third, seems to be in the best form and has for the first time admitted there's a real possibility, after previously joking about the matter: "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."
"We know we need to be perfect to the end of the season to have a chance, but we will try, and if we succeed, of course amazing. If we don't, we tried everything we could to the end and we kept it exciting. That's the spirit for us. It's positive pressure", the Dutchman said, admitting he did not felt any stress.
Formula 1 season continues this weekend with the Mexican Grand Prix, a race Verstappen has already won five times.
If you had to bet on someone, who do you think will win Formula 1 this year? Do you think there will be changes, like Norris overtaking Piastri, or Verstappen overtaking both?