AUSTIN LOWDOWN: All the key moments from the United States GP as Verstappen dominates and Piastri's lead shrinks

The United States Grand Prix weekend served up another entertaining affair as Max Verstappen's dominant performance further ignited the thrilling battle for this year's Drivers' Championship title.

As Verstappen's star shone brightly at the Circuit of The Americas – the Red Bull man claiming victory in the Sprint and the Grand Prix – the McLarens of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri had a relatively off weekend by the Papaya team's high standards this year.

With all eyes lasered in on the ever-shrinking points gaps at the top of the Drivers' standings, here are all the key moments from Austin...

Imperious Verstappen gains again in the hunt for the title

Max Verstappen had already been on a good run of form when F1 touched down in Austin for the United States Grand Prix weekend, having collected two Grand Prix victories across the last three rounds.

This had brought his deficit to championship leader Oscar Piastri down to 63 points with six events remaining – but a near-perfect outing in Austin has reduced that gap even further, setting up a thrilling title fight as the 2025 F1 season nears its conclusion.

Verstappen laid down a gauntlet early on by grabbing pole in Friday’s Sprint Qualifying, while he avoided the chaos that unfolded behind him on Lap 1 of Saturday’s Sprint – a melee that eliminated both McLarens – to seal another win.

Pole position for the Grand Prix followed, and from there the Red Bull driver was unstoppable in Sunday’s race, leading cleanly away off the line before stretching out his advantage in the opening laps.

While he had to nurse his tyres to the finish, Verstappen still crossed the line some 7.959s ahead of Lando Norris in second. With Piastri ending the event in fifth, the result means that Verstappen is now just 40 points adrift in the Drivers’ standings.

The four-time World Champion declared afterwards that “the chance is there” for a fifth consecutive title, adding that he and the team will “try whatever we can”. One thing’s for sure – the fight is well and truly on.

McLaren’s off weekend

While the weekend at the Circuit of The Americas could hardly have gone any better for Verstappen, it proved to be a much trickier one for McLaren.

The squad had attracted attention on Thursday’s media day after stating that Norris would face “repercussions” for his first-lap contact with Piastri last time out in Singapore, though they opted not to reveal the nature of this.

However, the focus soon switched to their fortunes on the track in Austin. After losing out on pole for the Sprint to Verstappen, Norris and Piastri lined up in second and third respectively – but both were dramatically out on the opening lap after a collision into Turn 1, a nightmare outcome for the Teams’ Champions.

Each car was repaired in time for Qualifying a few hours later, and Norris again had to settle for P2 behind Verstappen. Piastri, meanwhile, admitted he “didn’t feel comfortable” in the session after taking P6.

Sunday’s race was not entirely straightforward for either driver. Norris was overtaken by Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc at the start and then faced two battles with the Monegasque throughout the Grand Prix, meaning that the Briton’s eventual result of P2 was hard-fought.

Further back, Piastri struggled to make ground and crossed the line in fifth. The Australian conceded that McLaren “need to try and understand why the pace was lacking this weekend” – and while his lead has been reduced in the championship, he insisted that his “mentality hasn’t changed” ahead of the final five rounds of the campaign.

Ferrari’s topsy-turvy weekend

Ferrari's weekend in Austin certainly had its highs and lows, with Friday marking the low point for the Scuderia at a venue where they claimed a triumphant 1-2 last year. Leclerc had a gearbox problem in the sole practice session, severely limiting his running, before both he and Hamilton were left dejected following Sprint Qualifying.

With the pair towards the back of the top 10, Leclerc said Ferrari were "so far behind now" while Hamilton described the car as "very, very tough to drive."

However, Ferrari's weekend soon picked up. After finishing fifth in the Sprint, one place behind Hamilton, Leclerc qualified for the Grand Prix in third, but grew concerned on the grid when discovering that he was the only driver in the top 15 starting on soft tyres. However, this paid off as he was able to jump Norris at the start and engage in a race-long battle for the position.

Although he dropped back to third in the closing stages Leclerc was still happy with his podium because "it has been a tough second part of the year".

Hamilton followed his team mate home in fourth place, completing a 27-point haul for Ferrari on Sunday and moving them to within seven points of Mercedes in the Constructors’ Standings.

More important for the seven-time World Champion, however, was a growing feeling that he is “finally getting on top of the car”.

Another star-studded COTA weekend

The Circuit of The Americas always sees the stars come out to play, and the 2025 edition was no different. Actor Matthew McConaughey, golfer Ian Poulter as well as Olympic and Paralympic gold medal-winning duo Tara Davis-Woodhall and Hunter Woodall all took in the paddock, while Adele was seen posing with the drivers in the Mercedes garage.

The United States Grand Prix also saw the first Grid Gig, with Drake Milligan performing on the grid before the cars exited the pit lane to head on sighting laps. Keeping with a musical theme, singer Shaboozey also waved the chequered flag.

On Sunday, it was also confirmed that COTA will remain a fixture on the F1 calendar through until 2034. With interest in the championship continuing to rise in the United States, and the Austin venue proving ever-popular with fans worldwide, there will be plenty more exciting events to come at the circuit.