Max Verstappen is making history with every race and could stage one of the most remarkable fightbacks Formula 1 has ever seen, according to two team bosses who have worked closely with the four-time world champion.
The Dutch driver was 104 points behind McLaren’s Oscar Piastri at the end of August and would have ridiculed anyone who seriously suggested he still had a chance of a fifth successive title.
“I would have told him he was an idiot,” the driver told reporters on Sunday.
After three wins in the last four races, he is now 40 points behind the Australian – still a hefty amount – and very much a threat. In Austin alone, he clawed back 23 points.
If Verstappen were to come out on top, it would be an unprecedented turnaround even taking into account changed scoring systems.
Max Verstappen has closed the gap on drivers’ championship leader Oscar Piastri. Photo: Reuters
“I think watching Max driving is watching history in the making,” Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies told reporters after Verstappen completed a perfect weekend with a US sprint and grand prix double from pole position.