AUSTIN:&nbsp;Max Verstappen made it clear that he is chasing a spectacular fifth world title after reeling off his third win in four races with a masterclass in Sunday&#39;s sizzling United States Grand Prix. After avoiding direct comment on the championship for several weeks, Red Bull&#39;s four-time champion said he felt sure he now has a real chance of snatching the title from the grasp of McLaren&#39;s Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris. Boosted by cutting Piastri&#39;s advantage to 40 points with five Grands Prix remaining, including two more sprint races, a buoyant Verstappen called for Red Bull to maintain their momentum. &quot;Yeah, for sure, the chance is there,&quot; he said. &quot;We just need to try and deliver these weekends until the end. We will try whatever we can.&quot; After winning both Saturday&#39;s sprint and Sunday&#39;s Grand Prix race, Verstappen has 306 points in the title race, in third place, leaving Piastri on top with 346 points and Norris on 332. McLaren have already won the constructors&#39; title for the second consecutive year, but have focussed on preparing for 2026 and stopped introducing updates to their car for this year &mdash; leaving their drivers nervously scrambling to keep their title bids on track. The 28-year-old Dutchman has now collected 119 points from a possible 135 over the last five Grand Prix weekends &mdash; a run that has also coincided with improvements in form from both Mercedes and Ferrari. Verstappen added, &quot;It was an unbelievable weekend for us. I knew that the race was not going to be super straightforward, and I think, if you look at the whole race, the pace between me and Lando was really close. &quot;I think the first stint is where we made the difference. I could eek out a little bit of a gap, and that is basically what we kept until the end.&quot; He added, &quot;I am incredibly proud of everyone for delivering a weekend like this, and now we just have to keep the momentum.&quot; Verstappen&#39;s late-season charge has prompted memories of the 2007 season when Kimi Raikkonen of Ferrari went into the final race in Brazil trailing both McLaren drivers, Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton, but emerged as champion.

Racing

Red Bull's four-time champion reignited his title hopes with victory at the US Grand Prix, closing in on McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris as he targets a fifth world championship with five races remaining.

Verstappen gunning for fifth world title

AUSTIN: Formula 1 on Sunday announced an eight-year extension with the Circuit of the Americas to continue hosting the United States Grand Prix through 2034.&nbsp;The central Texas track has been a key US footprint for the global motorsports series since it opened in 2012. The race has become one of the highest-attended events on the schedule every year, with officials claiming more than 400,000 fans in 2022 and 2023.&nbsp;&ldquo;We&rsquo;re glad Formula 1 has found a home in Texas, and are grateful to the fans, teams, and the entire F1 community who have consistently supported us and made the United States Grand Prix a favorite stop on the global calendar,&quot; track president Bobby Epstein said in a statement.&nbsp;The extension was announced just a few hours before Sunday&#39;s race. According to track officials, this year&#39;s race weekend included fans from all 50 states and 60 countries.&nbsp;The Circuit of the Americas is the only purpose-built F1 track in the country and hosted the only F1 race in the US from 2012-2021. The series has now expanded to include races in Miami and Las Vegas, and recently extended the Miami Grand Prix through 2041.&nbsp;The US Grand Prix also has a unique arrangement with the state of Texas that allows race officials to apply annually for tax revenue to help pay F1&#39;s license fee for staging the event. Since 2012, the state has paid more than $300 million.&nbsp;Formula 1 officials say the race has generated an economic impact of about $7 billion for Austin and Texas since it began.&nbsp;Stefano Domenicali, president and chief executive officer of Formula 1, noted the track&#39;s role in &ldquo;establishing the strong foundation we now enjoy in the US&rdquo;&nbsp;&ldquo;As Formula 1 continues to grow and thrive in the United States, we are proud to extend our partnership with Bobby Epstein and his outstanding team in Austin, as well as with Governor (Greg) Abbott, whose leadership has been instrumental in supporting the sport&rsquo;s development in Texas and beyond,&quot; Domenicali said.&nbsp;The race contract comes three days after Formula 1 announced a five-year deal with Apple to be the series&#39;s US broadcast partner beginning next season.

Formula 1 extended its deal with Austin’s Circuit of the Americas through 2034, ensuring the United States Grand Prix remains a major fixture, generating billions for Texas as F1 expands its growing footprint across the US.


F1 extends US Grand Prix at COTA with 8-year deal 

AUSTIN: Red Bull&#39;s Max Verstappen cruised to an easy victory Saturday in a crash-filled United States Grand Prix sprint race that saw McLaren teammates and championship leaders Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris both knocked out in the first turn when their cars collided.&nbsp;The loss of both McLaren cars early that could have a huge impact on the season championship as McLaren mechanics now face the challenge of fixing both cars before qualifying for the main event.&nbsp;Verstappen started Saturday&rsquo;s sprint on pole with Norris second and Piastri third. Kick Sauber&rsquo;s Nico Hulkenberg tried to make a dive under Piastri into the first corner and instead bumped cars and sent Piastri crashing into Norris.&nbsp;Norris&rsquo; car spun and bounced, and a rear wheel was knocked off. Piastri&rsquo;s car suffered suspension damage.&nbsp;A late-race crash between Aston Martin&rsquo;s Lance Stroll and Haas driver Esteban Ocon forced the 19-lap event to finish behind a safety car.&nbsp;The result allows Verstappen, who is making a late-season charge at a possible fifth consecutive Formula 1 championship, to pull within 55 points of leader Piastri with six grand prix and two more sprint races on the season.&nbsp;Because both McLarens were taken out of the race, Piastri maintains his 22-point lead over Norris. Both drivers are chasing their first season championship.&nbsp;It was the second straight race with contact between the two McLarens. They nearly crashed in Singapore when Norris bumped tires with Piastri on the opening lap.

Max Verstappen dominated the United States Grand Prix sprint after McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris collided on the first lap. The crash ended both drivers’ races and dented McLaren’s title hopes ahead of Sunday’s main event.

Articles tagged with "US Grand Prix"

Verstappen gunning for fifth world title

F1 extends US Grand Prix at COTA with 8-year deal

Verstappen wins dramatic US Grand Prix sprint, McLarens crash