AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Red Bull’s Max Verstappen continued his late-season charge with a victory Sunday at the Formula 1 United States Grand Prix, while McLaren’s Lando Norris took a huge chunk out of teammate Oscar Piastri’s championship lead by finishing second.
Piastri was a distant fifth, which allowed Norris to pull within 14 points with five grand prix and two sprint races to go.
Verstappen, who got his third victory in four races, is also closing fast and now trails Piastri by 40 points in third.
Piastri and Norris are chasing their first career drivers championship. Verstappen is hunting his fifth in a row, and his dominant form of late has given him a real chance to get it. He also won Saturday’s sprint race after the two McLarens ran into each other on the first turn and crashed out.
Norris’ late pass of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc for second earned him a crucial position as he chases Piastri and hopes to hold off Verstappen over the final stretch of the season.
Verstappen started on the pole Sunday and was never challenged for the lead. He built a 10-second lead by the halfway point as Norris and Leclerc drove a furious battle for second.
Piastri’s day never got going. He started sixth and quickly made up a spot in the first few corners but was stuck there for the rest of the race.
Piastri’s lead is rapidly shrinking under pressure. He hasn’t won since the Dutch Grand Prix on Aug. 31 and hasn’t finished on the podium the last three races. Piastri started the race with a 22-point lead over Norris and 55 points over Verstappen.
The series next heads to Mexico City, where Verstappen has five career victories at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.
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