From Written Off to Within Reach: Max Verstappen's Remarkable Comeback
From crisis to contention — inside Max Verstappen's late-season surge and the shifting dynamics at McLaren
From being written off in the World Drivers’ Championship to now trailing Oscar Piastri by just 40 points, Max Verstappen is once again proving it isn’t over until he wins.
Verstappen Rewrites the Narrative at COTA
At the Circuit of the Americas, McLaren’s Lando Norris fought hard against Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc to claim second place, while Sir Lewis Hamilton and championship leader Oscar Piastri rounded out the top five. The result? A long-awaited Lestappen podium and a title fight that just got a lot more interesting.
With the dust settling in COTA, one question looms large … Can Max Verstappen secure his fifth consecutive world title in a car that looked hopeless only weeks ago?
Closing the Gap
After winning the United States Grand Prix, the Dutchman is giving the McLaren duo a run for their money. Just four races ago, the reigning world champion trailed Piastri by 104 points; now, that gap has shrunk to a mere 40. Should Verstappen defends his title successfully, joining Michael Schumacher as the only driver to claim five consecutive crowns, it would mark the greatest comeback from a points deficit in championship history.
And if there is one thing we know about Max Verstappen, it’s that he breaks formula 1 records consistently.
“It is an unbelievable weekend for us”, said Max Verstappen. “I knew that the race was not going to be super straightforward. I think if you look at the whole race, the pace between myself and Lando [Norris] was really close. Just in the first stint was where we made the difference and I could eke out a bit of a gap, which is basically what we kept to the end.”
McLaren Falters Amid Red Bull Revival
McLaren, meanwhile, has not tasted victory since the Dutch Grand Prix in late August. Since his home race, Max Verstappen has won three of the last four rounds, as well as the Sprint at COTA on Saturday. While Red Bull’s upgrades have undoubtably revived their pace, McLaren’s weekends have been marred by inconsistently, most recently in the Sprint race at COTA, when Oscar Piastri triggered a double DNF after colliding with Nico Hülkenerg’s Sauber during an overly ambitious Turn 1 move on teammate Norris.
“[The] chance is there,” says Verstappen. “We just need to try and deliver these kind of weekends now till the end. So, just try whatever we can. I think it’s exciting, and I’m just very excited to the end.”
A Race Defining Battle
Another key part of the race was the mid-race battle between Leclerc and Norris, which gave the Red Bull driver the breathing room needed to manage tire degradation.
“I think then it would have been a very close race,” Verstappen admitted. “Every time that Lando was in clean air, we were very evenly matched. Maybe at times he was a bit faster.”
Inside McLaren: Team Orders, Tension, and “Papaya Rules”
McLaren continues to face scrutiny after the Singapore Grand Prix controversy surrounding "Papaya Rules” — the internal guidelines meant to ensure fair racing between teammates. However, many fans claim that the policy favours one driver. The team hinted at internal repercussions for Norris’s recent clashes, though none that will manifest on track, which is a decision that some supporters see as lenient.
History suggests such intra-team rivalries rarely end peacefully. From Hamilton vs. Alonso at McLaren, Vettel vs. Webber at Red Bull, to the implosion of the “Brocedes” (Rosberg and Hamilton) at Mercedes, tension between title-contending teammates often shapes the championship’s narrative. With only 14 points separating Piastri and Norris, McLaren may soon find itself managing more than just car performance.
The Road Ahead
With five races remaining, Max Verstappen’s chance at the title is slim but alive. If he wins all five races, he will gain 125 points; if he wins four and a second place finish, he would yield 121. The equation depends entirely on Oscar Piastri’s consistency.
For Verstappen, though, as long as it is mathematically possible, improbable tends to be temporary.
References
Formula1.com. “Verstappen Surges to Commanding Victory in US GP Ahead of Norris and Leclerc.” October 19 2025.
King, Ryan Erik. “Max Verstappen Back In F1 Title Fight After McLaren’s Poor Weekend in Austin.” Jalopnik. October 20 2025.
Vording, Ronald. “Verstappen: Anyone Predicting My F1 2025 Turnaround Would’ve Been an ‘Idiot’.” Autosport.com. October 20 2025.