Brundle: Verstappen's Dominance Puts Pressure on McLaren's Two-Driver Strategy

Max Verstappen and Red Bull demonstrated blistering form in Austin, dominating both qualifying sessions and securing comfortable victories in the Sprint and the main Grand Prix. Sprint weekends, in particular, seem to amplify Verstappen's talent and confidence, providing a cumulative effect across three days of intense competition. This relentless schedule, with only one practice session before competitive action begins, makes it incredibly hard for rivals to catch up if they falter early.

Why it matters:

Max Verstappen's current peak form and the Red Bull's all-round superiority are creating significant pressure in the championship, forcing McLaren to strategically leverage their two-driver lineup. For McLaren, a challenging Sprint weekend in Austin highlighted the critical need for seamless execution to counter Red Bull's dominance, especially as the title race intensifies.

The Details:

• Sprint Weekend Impact: Any issues in the single practice session severely limit car setup time and driver confidence on an evolving track surface. A poor Sprint Qualifying often leads to a lower grid position for the shorter Sprint Race, where contact is far more likely.
• McLaren's Austin Setback: McLaren, expected to perform well in Austin, suffered a significant blow during the Sprint. Oscar Piastri's collision with teammate Lando Norris in Turn 1 eliminated both cars. This incident resulted in two damaged cars needing hurried repairs, zero championship points, and crucially, no data for main race-day preparation. This left McLaren on the back foot, forcing a conservative race setup, particularly regarding critical ride heights on their ground-effect cars.
  • Piastri's Role: The Turn 1 incident, a 40-meter uphill climb that narrows at the apex, is notoriously prone to contact. Piastri, attempting to capitalize on Norris's tighter entry, turned sharply underneath his teammate. While textbook in normal combat, this move was ill-advised at the start with a dense pack, leaving no room for error or quick changes in direction.
• Verstappen's Resilience: The only challenge Verstappen faced all weekend came from George Russell's Mercedes in the Sprint. Russell attacked aggressively into Turn 12, but Verstappen impressively anticipated the move and calmly maintained the lead, securing all 33 available points.
• Leclerc vs. Norris: Race day's best entertainment was the hard-fought duel between Charles Leclerc and Lando Norris. Ferrari's strategy to start Leclerc on soft tires against most of the top 15 on mediums led to a race-long battle, with Norris having to pass Leclerc twice due to differing pit strategies.

The Big Picture:

Verstappen has amassed 119 out of a possible 133 points in the last five races, closing Piastri's championship lead by 60 points in the last four events, now trailing by only 40 points. While upcoming tracks might favor McLaren, there's no doubt the Red Bull is currently a superior all-round car, and Max is in peak form.

What's next:

McLaren's 'ace card' is their two-against-one advantage, and they will need to play this strategically and flawlessly at every Grand Prix weekend, including the upcoming Mexico City Grand Prix, to challenge Verstappen's relentless pursuit of the championship. The thrilling title race continues at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez this weekend.