Shades of 2021 begin to creep in as Verstappen wins again

Max Verstappen put together another near flawless weekend to once again narrow the gap to Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris in Austin. The slowly narrowing gap is showing reminders of Lewis Hamilton’s 2021 assault on Verstappen although now, the shoe might be on the other foot for the Dutchman.

Like ‘21, one car immediately looked the stronger; the Red Bull driven by Verstappen and then teammate Sergio Perez. The Mercedes was also strong, piloted by Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas, but the Red Bull certainly had the edge.

📸 Verstappen in Bahrain.

Throughout the season, Mercedes closed that gap and by Abu Dhabi was clearly the faster machine. Until that Safety Car, Hamilton was well on his way to title number eight, with Verstappen consigned to finish as vice champion.

This season, the McLaren has been a clear favourite, but in recent races; the Red Bull in the hands of Verstappen is an untamed demon, hellbent on taking down the McLaren duo.

The Dutch driver has been in fine form, with three wins in the last five races, and second place finishes in the other two.

McLaren by comparison, has one win to their name in that time period winning at Zandvoort, with a Grand Prix DNF for both Piastri (Baku) and Norris (Zandvoort) as well as their sprint race double DNF in Austin.

📸 Austin sprint crash + 2 DNF’s: are McLaren freefalling into Verstappen’s reach?

After Austin, Verstappen (third overall in the standings) is 40 points behind leader Piastri, and 26 being second placed Norris. Game on, right?

Five rounds to go. Can Verstappen seal number five, or will McLaren and F1 crown a new winner? I’m excited to find out.

📸 Piastri still holds the lead, but can he keep it?

📸 Image credits: Formula Motorsport Limited, Sky Sports.