Formula 1: Articles & News Reports.

**Fortitude** · 16th October 2025, 08:29

63 Points, Six Weekends: Verstappen Smells Blood.
Red Bull and Max Verstappen are back in this title fight. Andrea Stella isn’t one for hyperbole, but even he couldn’t downplay what’s become obvious over the last month.
October 12, 2025
Alex Albuquerque
FastestLap.com

Verstappen’s deficit to championship leader Oscar Piastri has shrunk from almost triple digits to 63 points thanks to a four-race run that reads like a statement: wins at Monza and Baku, second at Zandvoort, and another second on Sunday night in Singapore. And that last one mattered. Marina Bay has been a Red Bull bogey for years; this time, Verstappen chased George Russell to the flag and beat both McLarens on outright pace.

“They were competitive in Monza, very competitive. And then they were competitive in Baku,” McLaren team principal Stella said in Singapore. “We thought, let’s see if that depends on low drag and small rear wings, and if it can be repeated with big wings at high downforce. Here in Singapore, where they’ve struggled in the past, the evidence is they might have resolved both of these factors.

The timing is not subtle. Red Bull has fed a steady stream of upgrades onto the RB21 across these last races, ironing out the balance quirks that left Verstappen fighting the car through the first half of the season. Early spikes of form — think Suzuka and Imola — have become a consistent platform. Meanwhile, McLaren’s MCL39 has been relatively static as Woking’s gaze shifts increasingly to 2026. That’s not a criticism; it’s a championship reality. But it has given Verstappen a foothold with only six race weekends to go.

‘Verstappen Smells Blood’;

https://fastestlap.com/news/63-point...-smells-blood/

MAX PREVIEWS AUSTIN GP: 'WANT TO KEEP UP THE MOMENTUM'
15 October 2025
Niels Hendrix
Verstappen.nl

Max Verstappen is looking forward to the Grand Prix of Austin in Texas in the United States of America, the upcoming weekend. The Dutch Oracle Red Bull Racing driver says: “We made a positive step in Singapore. We have had a strong run of races recently and want to keep up the momentum and hopefully this weekend we can do a bit better. I have been back at the factory this week preparing on the sim and the team has been pushing really hard and we have been analysing where we can improve.”

Max adds: “This circuit is about finding the right compromise in setup between straight-line speed and downforce for the fast-sweeping corners and the bumps can always make things tricky too. Austin is a cool city and has great food so always a fun place to race at. It’s another sprint weekend, so we’ll have to get on top of things quickly as there is less time to fine tune things, but this will be a challenge for everyone.”

“Back at the factory this week preparing on the sim”;

https://news.verstappen.com/en/article/5975/

Villeneuve backs title outsider Verstappen for 'best championship yet'
14 Oct 2025
Ben Winship
GPblog.com

Jacques Villeneuve has backed Max Verstappen to win the 2025 Drivers Championship after closing the gap to the McLaren drivers in recent weeks. Speaking at a 75th anniversary event for F1 held in Italy, the 1997 world champion claimed Verstappen will overcome a 63 point gap to Oscar Piastri in the remaining six race weekends.

When asked who would win the 2025 Drivers Championship Villeneuve was quick to shout ‘Verstappen!’. He said: “And so it will be his best World Championship yet. Because the two McLarens are suffering too much under the pressure. They need to wake up.” With back-to-back wins in Italy and Azerbaijan, four-time world champion Verstappen has cut the gap to championship leader Oscar Piastri down from 97 points to 63 in the space of just four rounds.

‘Villeneuve was quick to shout “Verstappen!”’;

https://www.gpblog.com/en/news/ville...ampionship-yet

Juan Pablo Montoya thinks Max Verstappen is playing a ‘terrifying’ game in 2025 title fight
13 October 2025
Tyler Rowlinson
F1 Oversteer

Red Bull were disappointed Verstappen did not win in Singapore as he came home second behind George Russell, who dominated the race. The 27-year-old was gunning for pole position, but he abandoned his final lap by the pit entry. Verstappen claimed that Norris impeded him with dirty air while entering the final two corners. For Juan Pablo Montoya, this is a ‘terrifying’ game that the Dutchman is playing to unnerve the McLaren drivers and create ‘tension’ amongst them.

“It’s terrifying that Max is playing that game and the only reason Max is playing that game is because he wants to pit the two McLaren drivers against each other and he’s very strategic,” he said via AS Columbia. “He’s not stupid. So he’s perfect and saying it in front of Oscar, right? Well, you weren’t a McLaren driver, the other one was the one who made me uncomfortable, do you understand me? To create that tension.”

“It wasn’t even visible, and it wasn’t even there. I’m telling you, if Lando was driving fast, opening up a gap very quickly, all the gap he’s opening up, because he’s going full speed, one says, ‘No, but he wasn’t even close enough for it to affect anything’. Well, where it would have affected Lando, he wouldn’t have been able to get as close as he got to Max in the race. Until Lando had problems when he got to a second or 1.3, something like that, but until then Lando had no problems and was much faster than Max. So, if you look at that and say, let’s say it’s not 1.3, but 2 and a half, 3 seconds, 3 seconds. Lando was ahead by 3 seconds, if you know what I mean.”

“It’s terrifying”;

https://www.f1oversteer.com/news/jua...5-title-fight/

Schumacher predicts bleak future for McLaren, tips Verstappen for win
13 Oct 2025
Samson Ero
GPblog.com

Ralf Schumacher has shared a grim prediction regarding the situation unfolding at McLaren, while also tipping Max Verstappen to take victory at the United States Grand Prix. The 50-year-old, who spoke on the Backstage Boxengasse podcast, was asked whether Zak Brown would soon have to decide who the team’s lead driver should be amid their title fight. Schumacher, however, stressed that while the McLaren CEO is unlikely to favour anyone, there might soon be a need for a decision as Verstappen closes in on both Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris.

“I don’t think Zak has the kind of character that would make him prefer one driver over the other. I’ll put it this way – if Max really comes up again, really close, then you’d have to get involved. Otherwise, they’ll just let them race. I just hope it doesn’t come to a final bang. Somehow, I have the feeling that soon, the two of them might not make it out of the first corner.”

Ralf Schumacher continued stating that Verstappen could clinch another win at the Grand Prix in Austin, adding that McLaren’s dominance appears to be slipping away. “Then it becomes a problem, and Max Verstappen just wins there [in Austin]. The next race in Texas will be very good for Red Bull again, and it could be difficult once more for McLaren, who also seem to be slowly getting tense. Anyone who knows Andreas Stella knows that. I’d say the dominance is really gone now, and that’s something they don’t understand at all and can’t afford at this stage of the season.”

‘Grim prediction regarding the situation unfolding at McLaren’;

https://www.gpblog.com/en/news/schum...tappen-for-win

Verstappen sets sights on Austin: 'We’re pushing hard to improve'
16 Oct 2025
Olly Darcy
GPblog.com

Red Bull's Max Verstappen hopes that his recent "strong run of races" will guide him towards the front at the United States Grand Prix. Coming into the sprint weekend in Austin, Verstappen sits on 273 points and P3 in the world championship, 63 points behind championship leader Oscar Piastri on 336 points.

After his P2 at the Marina Bay Street Circuit, Verstappen tempered expectations after bringing himself back into the title discussion, warned his team that they "need to dominate" for the rest of the season if there was any chance of winning the title.

However, there is still a belief from some that the Dutchman will win his fifth world title in as many years, with 1997 champion Jacques Villeneuve backing the 27-year-old to finish top of the standings.

‘Verstappen sets sights on Austin’;

https://www.gpblog.com/en/news/verst...ard-to-improve

**Fortitude** · Yesterday, 10:20

Stella opens up on McLaren 'repercussions' after Singapore fallout.
McLaren deemed Norris responsible for the incident, as he went slightly deep into Turn 3 and made contact with Verstappen’s rear, triggering a chain reaction that ultimately caught his teammate as well.
17 Oct 2025
Tobia Elia
GPblog.com

McLaren team principal Andrea Stella revealed how the team handled the incident between Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris once the Singapore weekend was over. "We reviewed the case, we identified that Lando was responsible for the contact because he was a little long in corner 3, touched Verstappen and then he oversteered onto Oscar.”

"Obviously there was no malice in this move but both drivers accepted the review and we now head into the rest of the season like after Canada, even more united and stronger as a team. This is something that both drivers were keen to have in the racing framework. For me, it was part of leading the review — to discuss this without the drivers. They’ve been accepted, and we are now ready to focus on maximising the performance of the car and finding our winning ways again.”

‘McLaren deemed Norris responsible’;

https://www.gpblog.com/en/news/stell...-piastri-clash

Oscar Piastri’s engineer reveals the ‘dangerous’ mood on his side of the McLaren garage
16 October 2025
David Comerford
F1 Oversteer

It may only be Piastri’s third season in F1 – no driver has won a title so early since Lewis Hamilton in 2008 – but he has worked for around ’10 years’ to be in this position. Back in August, Juan Pablo Montoya said Piastri was starting to realise this could be his only chance. And Stallard says that reflects the mood inside his McLaren camp right now.

The Woking outfit will race with the highly-rated Mercedes engine next year and appear to have all the personnel required to sustain their dominance. But nothing is certain in F1, particularly in the context of major regulation changes. Stallard told ESPN: “Hopefully, we’ll be in the same position next year, but we definitely have that Olympic-every-four-years kind of feeling, that feeling that this is our chance. And that’s always a slightly dangerous thing to feel, because very much handling pressure is about doing what you’re good at, rather than delivering some magic.”

“And normally, when it looks like magic to the rest of the world, it’s actually just because you went out and did your thing. So we’ll be trying to do that. I think we’re both quite well placed to handle that pressure. You’re right in that the pressure is going to ramp up, but people say pressure is a privilege. That pressure is something that he’s worked for, for let’s say 10 years, arguably more, in order to be in a position where he can have that pressure. And it’s very rare that you get to be world champion without being able to ride that pressure. So, I think it comes with the territory, and we’re in the territory we want to be in.”

“Doing what you’re good at, rather than delivering some magic”;

https://www.f1oversteer.com/news/osc...claren-garage/

Max Verstappen unfazed by new F1 position as world title fight heats up
For the first time as world champion, Max Verstappen is the hunter rather than the hunted in F1.
17 October 2025
Jake Nichol
RacingNews365

Max Verstappen is unfazed by acquiring a new position in the F1 title race, being the driver hunting rivals down as opposed to the hunted. Analysing the new situation, the Dutchman explained that he would simply do his best and try to achieve the best possible results for his Red Bull team.

Asked for his chances of winning the title, Verstappen told media, including RacingNews365, "50-50, you either win it or you don’t. This car is a bit different to the previous one, so it’s not a guarantee that it works everywhere. I prefer to just look at it race by race. We’ll try to do our best here and then move on and see what we get."

‘Max Verstappen unfazed’;

https://racingnews365.com/max-versta...fight-heats-up

Can Verstappen catch McLaren duo? He rates his chances
17/10/2025
Michael Delaney
F1i.com

With the 2025 Formula 1 season hurtling toward its climax, Max Verstappen is clawing his way back into the Drivers’ Championship fray, rating his shot at dethroning McLaren contenders Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris as a straight "50/50" gamble.

Just four races ago, the Red Bull ace trailed Piastri by a daunting 104 points, but a blistering resurgence –capped by successive wins in Monza and Baku, plus a strong P2 in Singapore – has slashed the deficit to 63 points behind Piastri and a more manageable 41 from Norris. With 174 points still dangling over six nail-biting rounds, including three Sprint weekends, the Dutch maestro heads to Austin's Circuit of The Americas brimming with calculated optimism, while taking his task one race at a time.

“We’ll try, for sure,” he said, when asked about his prospects of overhauling his papaya rivals. “The last three weekends have been very nice – some a bit better than others. I still think that in Singapore we didn’t maximise the potential of the car, but you analyse everything and try to do better. That’s what we’ll try to do again here. It’s a great track to drive, a Sprint weekend is always a bit hectic… I’m just curious to see what we can do.”

“We’ll try, for sure”;

https://f1i.com/news/550803-can-vers...s-chances.html

Charles Leclerc fires back at Ferrari F1 exit rumours with blunt response
Charles Leclerc rebuffs speculation linking him with a Ferrari exit after 2026, calling the rumours “annoying” and insisting his focus is on winning
17 October 2025
John Smith

Charles Leclerc has shut down mounting speculation that he could leave Ferrari when his contract expires in 2026, describing reports about his potential exit as unfounded and “annoying.” “What I can say is what I’ve always said, and that’s very clear,” Leclerc told the media, including Total-Motorsport.com. “I’ve always loved Ferrari so much and my only obsession at the moment is to win in red, whether it’s now or in the future. And I want to bring back Ferrari to the top.”

“There are lots of speculations around me, but just in general around the team for whatever reason,” Leclerc added. “I feel like there are too many people speaking things not coming from actual facts, and it’s just a little bit annoying. It’s always been like that. And I think as a driver, but also as a team, we’ve just got to focus on our things, which is what we are doing. It’s not super nice to see all these things around the team all the time.”

“It’s definitely not a situation we want to be in, in a way that the performance is not at the level where we want to be,” Leclerc said. “But we are all focused on trying to turn that situation around. Whenever the results aren’t there, there are always those rumours that come back — but what I say today is what I’ve said in the past six or seven years with the team.”

‘Blunt response’;

https://www.total-motorsport.com/cha...ours-response/

Russell on lucrative Mercedes deal : ‘Toto could have been tighter’
17/10/2025
Phillip van Osten
F1i.com

“I'm really happy to be continuing,” George Russell said in Austin on Thursday. “The truth is if every single seat was available for next year and I could choose any single team to race for, I believe Mercedes is my best chance of winning the championship next year. And for me, it's more about winning than it is about money or sponsor days or anything. I want to win and this is what I'm fighting for, so that is the long and short of it.”

“I think it always just comes down to performance, I think, for any driver,” he said. “At least for myself, what allows me to sleep well at night is knowing that my performances are strong and that is what will keep you in the sport as any driver. Our intention and my goal is to continue with Mercedes indefinitely, and we're here to focus on winning in 2026.”

“But I think he really recognises that you need to reward those who are delivering, who are putting in the effort and delivering those results on track. That's why I'm sort of here with a smile on my face because I'm very happy with the offer. That's the bonus, but the main goal for me is a fast race car.”

Toto could have been tighter’;

https://f1i.com/news/550799-russell-...n-tighter.html

**Fortitude** · Yesterday, 19:18

Lando Norris tops United States Grand Prix FP1 as Nico Hulkenberg splits McLaren duo.
McLaren appear to have the upper hand once again, although speed trap data has shown that Verstappen is stronger in the medium speed corners. This could make for an interesting United States Grand Prix weekend, as this is normally where the Woking-based team have an advantage over Red Bull.
17 October 2025
Rebecca Braybrook
F1 Oversteer

The drivers took to the Circuit of the Americas for the only practice session of the United States Grand Prix weekend, ahead of Sprint qualifying later tonight. Lando Norris topped the FP1 time sheets during the later qualifying practice runs, with Nico Hulkenberg causing surprise as he split the McLarens with his Sauber. The German driver wasn’t the only surprise of the session, with Fernando Alonso sitting in fourth between Oscar Piastri and Max Verstappen in third and fifth, respectively.

‘McLaren appear to have the upper hand once again’;

https://www.f1oversteer.com/news/lan...prix-practice/

2025 F1 United States GP – Free Practice 1 Results
Lando Norris tops FP1 for McLaren at the 2025 United States GP as the title battle intensifies at the Circuit of the Americas
17 October 2025
John Smith
Total Motorsport

F1 United States GP 2025 FP1 results
Check out the full United States GP 2025 Free Practice 1 results from the first and only practice session at COTA below.
Pos Driver Team Time
1 Lando Norris McLaren 1:33.294
2 Nico Hulkenberg Sauber +0.255
3 Oscar Piastri McLaren +0.279
4 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin +0.345
5 Max Verstappen Red Bull +0.354
6 Alexander Albon Williams +0.626
7 George Russell Mercedes +0.637
8 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari +0.671
9 Isack Hadjar Racing Bulls +0.861
10 Oliver Bearman Haas +1.039

‘FP1 results’;

https://www.total-motorsport.com/f1-...ice-1-results/

Norris on top in sizzling Austin GP practice
17/10/2025
France 24

Austin (AFP) – Title-chasing Lando Norris topped the times ahead of Sauber's Nico Hulkenberg and his McLaren team-mate and series leader Oscar Piastri in Friday's opening practice at the United States Grand Prix. The 25-year-old Briton, bristling after being disciplined internally by McLaren, clocked a best lap in one minute and 33.294 seconds to outpace Hulkenberg by 0.255sec and Piastri by 0.279sec as he bids to close a 22-point gap in the drivers' title race with six events remaining.

Two-time champion Fernando Alonso was fourth for Aston Martin ahead of four-time champion Max Verstappen of Red Bull, Alex Albon of Williams and Mercedes' George Russell. Seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton was eighth for Ferrari. All of the leading drivers clocked their best laps on soft slick tyres in the closing minutes except for Alonso, on hards, and Russell, Hamilton and rookie Isack Hadjar, who all used mediums.

The action began with Verstappen leading the way on a hot and sunny day at the sweeping Circuit of the Americas with an air temperature of 33C, enough for the 'heat hazard' rule to be executed, enabling drivers to wear cooling vests in their cars. Not everyone chose to take a vest, the Dutchman going without because he found it to be uncomfortable and flawed.

‘Bristling after being disciplined internally’;

https://www.france24.com/en/live-new...in-gp-practice

US Grand Prix: Lando Norris strikes back as Nico Hulkenberg springs a shock in FP1
17 Oct 2025
Thomas Maher
PlanetF1.com

McLaren has set the pace in the first and only practice session at the Circuit of the Americas, courtesy of Lando Norris, while there was surprise in second place… Lando Norris and McLaren have started the US Grand Prix weekend in strong fashion, with the British driver enjoying a quarter-second advantage in first practice, as he was joined at the front by Sauber’s Nico Hulkenberg.

With track temperature at 43 degrees celsius as the drivers lined up to peel out on track for the one and only practice session of the weekend, it was Red Bull’s Max Verstappen who led the cars out onto the Circuit of the Americas for the first laps of the weekend.

Hard tyres were the order of the day for the first 30 minutes of the day as the teams sought to get a good understanding of the C1 compound, and it was Red Bull who found its feet in the early stages as Verstappen and Yuki Tsunoda went first and second ahead of Norris.

‘Lando Norris strikes back’;

https://www.planetf1.com/news/united...025-fp1-report

Everything that happened in only F1 US GP practice session
Oct 17, 2025
Josh Suttill
The Race

Lando Norris led Nico Hulkenberg’s Sauber in the sole Formula 1 practice session before sprint qualifying at the United States Grand Prix. Norris emerged quickest in a late flurry of soft tyre sprint qualifying simulations in Austin, setting a 1m33.294s, 0.255s faster than surprise runner-up in the session, Hulkenberg.

Hulkenberg hasn’t scored a point since his Silverstone podium but did earn his best grand prix qualifying result of the season (11th) last time out in Singapore. Piastri was third, 0.279s slower than Norris, who is facing as-yet-undetermined ‘consequences’ for causing their Singapore GP opening lap clash.

Fernando Alonso was fourth fastest for Aston Martin ahead of Max Verstappen’s Red Bull and Alex Albon’s Williams. George Russell and Lewis Hamilton were seventh and eighth and set their fastest times on the medium tyres - the mandated tyre for SQ1 and SQ2.

‘Lando Norris led Nico Hulkenberg’s Sauber’;

https://www.the-race.com/formula-1/e...ctice-session/

Full Results | Norris tops FP1 for McLaren at COTA ahead of Hulkenberg
17 Oct 2024
Luke-John Buckle
GPblog.com

The one and only practice session ahead of the United States Grand Prix has just been completed at Circuit of the Americas. Lando Norris tops the timesheets in first practice at Circuit of the Americas for McLaren, as Nico Hulkenberg set the second fastest time. At COTA, the British driver set a 1:33.294 as Hulkenberg went two tenths slower as the track continued to get faster towards the end. Oscar Piastri is leading the world championhip standings and set the third best time in FP1, just under three tenths behind his teammate.

Aston Martin can be very good on Fridays, and Fernando Alonso did enough to go fourth quickest ahead of reigning world champion Max Verstappen. Alex Albon went sixth quickest for Williams on a mixed day for the team, as his teammate Carlos Sainz slumped to P19 after a gearbox problem.

George Russell set the seventh best time for Mercedes, ahead of his compatriot Lewis Hamilton who led for much of the hour. Isack Hadjar and Oliver Bearman are both racing at Circuit of the Americas for the first time and went ninth and 10th quickest. Charles Leclerc didn't have the opportunity to run the soft tyres at the end as his Ferrari developed an issue, costing him valuable track time.

‘Lando Norris tops the timesheets’;

https://www.gpblog.com/en/news/full-...-of-hulkenberg

**Fortitude** · Today, 04:04

'Not impossible': Max Verstappen takes US GP sprint pole but Helmut Marko admits 2025 title will require 'help' from McLaren.
Red Bull's four-time world champion Verstappen took sprint pole position, with McLaren's Lando Norris and Piastri completing a familiar top three.
18 October 2025
Emily Patterson
Channel 9's Wide World of Sports

Red Bull Racing advisor Helmut Marko has conceded that securing a fifth-straight drivers' championship is "not impossible", but admitted that driver Max Verstappen will need "some help from McLaren". "Since Zandvoort, we were always fighting for P1, P2. So the direction is okay. Unfortunately, this turnaround came a little bit late," he said.

"All this [discussion about] medium speed, the temperature and all these stories, they don't count anymore. We are there. And if in one corner we may be [off the pace], it's going within thousands of a second. It's not like it was before, half a second or so in some sectors.”

"It shows that our car made a big step forward, and Max, of course, is using it to the maximum. If we had made this turnaround earlier, the championship would look different. I think we can't do it on our own. We need some help from McLaren. It's not impossible."

“We are there”;

https://www.nine.com.au/sport/motors...18-p5n3g0.html

2025 F1 United States GP – Sprint Qualifying Results
18 October 2025
John Smith
Total Motorsport

F1 United States GP 2025 Sprint Qualifying results
Behind the top three, Nico Hulkenberg delivered a standout performance in fourth, ahead of George Russell, Fernando Alonso and Carlos Sainz and Lewis Hamilton, who secured seventh after a scrappy session for Ferrari.
While Alex Albon impressed once more in ninth and Charles Leclerc rounded out the top ten after narrowly surviving elimination in SQ2, as his one-lap struggles in Texas continued.
Earlier, both Ferraris flirted with an early exit before Leclerc salvaged progression to SQ3, while rookies Isack Hadjar and Kimi Antonelli missed the cut.
Check out the full United States GP 2025 Sprint Qualifying results from COTA below.
Pos. Driver Team Gap
1. Max Verstappen Red Bull 1:32.143
2. Lando Norris McLaren +0.071
3. Oscar Piastri McLaren +0.380
4. Nico Hulkenberg Sauber +0.502
5. George Russell Mercedes +0.745
6. Fernando Alonso Aston Martin +0.767
7. Carlos Sainz Williams +0.768
8. Lewis Hamilton Ferrari +0.892
9. Alex Albon Williams +0.956
10. Charles Leclerc Ferrari +0.961

‘Sprint Qualifying results’;

https://www.total-motorsport.com/f1-...fying-results/

Mark Hughes: McLaren 'consequences' may have cost Norris pole
Oct 18, 2025
Mark Hughes
The Race

If the infamous internal ‘consequences’ McLaren has imposed upon Lando Norris for his Singapore contact with his team-mate is the timing of his final qualifying runs relative to Oscar Piastri, it just might have cost McLaren the sprint pole to Max Verstappen’s Red Bull here.

Red Bull – just as in Singapore – waited until the very last moment to send Verstappen out on track in an attempt at maximising the track grip. He was the last car out. The penultimate car out was Piastri. Norris took to the track a full 40s+ earlier than Verstappen and 20s earlier than Piastri.

With the track cooling and the line rubbering up, there was potentially significant laptime difference between Norris’ slot and Verstappen’s. Norris lost pole by 0.071s. Might the track grip difference have feasibly been as much as that? Absolutely, it may have been. Not a certainty, but definitely a possibility.

‘Infamous internal consequences’;

https://www.the-race.com/formula-1/m...o-norris-pole/

Verstappen cautious of ‘tough’ McLaren challenge in United States GP Sprint
Red Bull's Max Verstappen snatched Sprint pole from Lando Norris with an impressive last-gasp effort at the Circuit of The Americas.
Oct 18, 2025
Formula One - Official Site

Max Verstappen has warned of the “tough” threat he faces in Saturday’s Sprint from McLaren after securing Sprint pole at the United States Grand Prix. “It’s been a nice qualifying,” said the Red Bull driver after hopping out of the cockpit.

“Throughout all of the segments, we were quite close. It was just about putting it all together at the end, when it matters most, which is not easy because you go to the soft compound with no reference.”

“It worked out well. I still expect it to be a tough battle tomorrow with the Sprint, but that is exactly what we want to see, right? So yeah, I’m excited for tomorrow and happy with today.”

‘Verstappen cautious’;

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/a...9nNSuItSatnEaA

Marko is certain: Verstappen can now win anywhere amid Sprint pole
18 Oct 2025
Updated: 02:53, 18 Oct
Tim Kraaij
GPblog.com

Pole position for the Sprint in Austin confirms that Red Bull Racing can once again contend for the victory everywhere according to Helmut Marko, especially with Max Verstappen behind the wheel. Immediately after sprint qualifying in the United States, Marko spoke to GPblog. Asked about Verstappen's pole lap, the Austrian said: "Super. In Sector 3, he took the pole. Turn 1, he went sideways, but was even so quicker. Even so, he was sliding a bit too much, I guess. But unbelievable lap in Sector 3."

Verstappen won in Monza and Baku, after which he finished second in Singapore in front of the two McLarens. When asked if the pole for the sprint race in Austin shows that the RB21 can now contend for pole everywereh, Marko smiled: "Definitely." He continued: "All this medium speed, the temperature, and all this stories, they don't count anymore. We are there. If in one corner, it's going within thousands of a second. It's not like it was before, half a second or so in some sector.
"It shows that our car made a big step forward, and Max, of course, is using it to the maximum," the Red Bull advisor concluded.

"Definitely";

https://www.gpblog.com/en/news/marko...w-win-anywhere

Verstappen excited to fight Norris in United States GP Sprint Race as title chance beckons
18 October 2025
Brandon Sutton
Total Motorsport

“It’s been a nice qualifying,” Max Verstappen told F1 TV. “Throughout all the segments we were quite close, just about trying to put it all together when it matters at the end, which is not easy because you go to the soft compound with no reference really.”

“It worked out well, but I still expect it to be a tough battle tomorrow in the Sprint, but that’s I think exactly what we want to see. I’m excited for tomorrow and happy with today.”

“The wind was coming up and down, very gusty,” Verstappen continued. “The track is very bumpy as well, so the cars can easily step out on you in the high speed. In a qualifying like that, you have to leave a few margins here and there, but for us this has been a very good day”

“It’s been a nice qualifying”;

https://www.total-motorsport.com/ver...hance-beckons/