The Red Bull driver capitalised on a chaotic opening corner at the Circuit of the Americas, which eliminated both McLarens of Piastri and Lando Norris, to secure his 11th career Sprint win and extend his recent run of dominance.
It was his second straight Sprint victory and another step in a remarkable points surge that has reignited his 2025 title hopes.
After being 104 points behind Piastri following the Dutch Grand Prix four rounds ago, Verstappen has outscored the Australian 76–27 since, with Norris adding just 39 points in the same period.
His latest win now places him within striking distance of both McLaren drivers heading into Sunday’s race.
Verstappen, however, played down the championship narrative, saying his focus was on improving Red Bull’s performance overnight rather than the points table.
“I mean it’s very simple. If you keep winning, then that’s a good thing,” Verstappen told Sky Sports F1.
“I do think that today of course the Sprint we won, but the pace is not where I wanted to be.
“So if we want to win tomorrow, we definitely need to be stronger.
“And that’s something that we’ll analyse right now. How we can find that kind of pace.”
Verstappen’s start from pole was clean as chaos erupted behind him when Piastri and Norris were taken out in a chain reaction caused by Nico Hulkenberg’s Sauber.
From there, the Dutchman controlled proceedings, fending off a strong challenge from Mercedes’ George Russell to take the chequered flag.
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Reflecting on his race, Verstappen said the victory was satisfying but that Red Bull still had improvements to make if they were to stay ahead in the main event.
“[The] start was good,” he said.
“Then, of course, there was a safety car, because we did Turn 1 incident.
“Took a few laps after the safety car to have decent pace, so, we need to figure out what was going on there.
“But nevertheless, we won the sprint, which is, of course, the most important.
“Already looking at [Sunday], I do think we need to be a bit better in race trim to be able to fight the McLarens, because we haven’t seen anything of them.”
McLaren Team Principal Andrea Stella acknowledged the setback in the championship fight after both cars were forced to retire but maintained confidence that the team’s performance will ultimately decide the title.
“The implication is what the mathematics says,” he said.
“We have lost eight points with both drivers. But you know, we focus on ourselves.
“We know that if we can race and race normally, we have a very competitive car and two very strong drivers and I think the score is going to take care of themselves.”
Qualifying for the United States Grand Prix takes place at 4pm local time (8am AEDT).
Verstappen triumphs as McLarens wiped out in USGP Sprint chaos
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