F1: Winners and losers from the 2025 United States Grand Prix

Max Verstappen won the United States Grand Prix on a weekend which saw him edge ever closer towards McLaren’s Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri in the Drivers’ Championship battle. 

Sports News Blitz writer Eloise Stevens looks at the winners and losers of the race out in Austin as we head towards the end of the F1 season. 

Winner: Max Verstappen

Max Verstappen definitely came out of the race weekend as the ultimate winner, cruising to victory nearly eight seconds ahead of Lando Norris after already coming home first in Saturday’s sprint race.

This latest triumph had even the Dutchman finally admitting to being in the Driver’s Championship fight with him now only 40 points behind Oscar Piastri at the top of the standings.

Having now gained a whopping 64 points back on Piastri over the last four race weekends, the Red Bull driver only needs to claim eight points per weekend to catch the Australian driver. 

Something that certainly seems possible as the two McLaren drivers continue to take points off each other.

Loser: McLaren

It was a weekend of highs and lows for McLaren as the Turn 1 incident in the sprint caused both drivers to exit the race on the first lap. 

This resulted in yet another high-profile incident between the two drivers in recent weeks that the team could do rather without, especially as the focus was already on the so-called ‘repercussions’ Lando Norris would be suffering from after his controversial move last time out in Singapore. 

The Briton didn’t show any signs of being at a disadvantage during the rest of the weekend, however, as he managed to maintain his qualifying position of P2 by the end of the Grand Prix. 

This wasn’t without its challenges, though, as he spent much of the race behind the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc.

His long battle with the Ferrari driver was a delay that caused him to miss out on fighting Verstappen for the win, something he desperately needs to do if he intends to keep his championship hopes alive. 

Oscar Piastri produced another lacklustre performance after he never quite found the pace to catch the Ferraris, resulting in a P5 finish.

His recent performances are now leaving many to wonder - is the pressure finally getting to him?

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Winner: Charles Leclerc

Charles Leclerc leaves Austin a worthy winner despite having to settle for P3, his sixth podium of the season, after failing to hold off the pace of Norris’ McLaren.

There is still much to be positive about for Ferrari’s performance at the USGP.

Their strategy of starting on Soft tyres then switching to Mediums ultimately proved to be the optimum approach and allowed Leclerc to keep the British driver at bay for most of the race. 

P3 and P4 in the race for the Scuderia was the perfect comeback after their struggles in the sprint, and now leaves them only seven points behind Mercedes in the Constructors’ standings. 

Loser: Mercedes 

After George Russell finished second in Saturday’s sprint race, you might forgive Mercedes for thinking they had retained some of the great pace displayed with Russell’s victory in Singapore. 

However, on Sunday, it was clear it was not meant to be as Russell lost out on two positions during the race, coming home in P7 after failing to catch the McLaren of Oscar Piastri.

Things seemed even worse for Andrea Kimi Antonelli, whose collision with Williams’ Carlos Sainz on Lap 5 left him struggling to make up the place,s finishing just outside of the points in P13.

Winner: Nico Hulkenberg

Things got off to a fantastic start for Nico Hulkenberg after he managed to put his Sauber into fourth position for the sprint race after being outqualified by team-mate Gabriel Bortoleto in the last eight races.

But this perfect start was quickly unravelled as he was forced to pit at the end of the opening lap after losing his front wing due to a turn one collision with Oscar Piastri. 

The Grand Prix did, however, see the German secure his first points since his maiden podium at Silverstone as he ended the race in P8 to bring Sauber within 10 points of Aston Martin. 

Loser: Williams

Williams had a race to forget following a memorable sprint in which Carlos Sainz secured a podium finish with P3 and Alex Albon finished sixth, with both drivers benefiting from the chaos of the first lap. 

Sainz was unable to carry over his good fortune to Sunday. His race ended early after a collision with the Mercedes of Kimi Antonelli on the fifth lap, earning the Spaniard a five-place grid penalty for next weekend's Mexico Grand Prix.

Albon wasn’t having much luck either. After his disappointing exit from Q1, he was only able to recover to P14, which left Williams leaving Cota empty-handed.

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Winner: Fernando Alonso 

Fernando Alonso’s weekend was nothing spectacular, but it proved that consistency is key. 

After getting caught up in the Turn 1 incident of the sprint, he bounced back to extend his impressive streak of out-qualifying his Canadian team-mate, Lance Stroll, in the last 30 races.

By the chequered flag on Sunday, the F1 veteran placed his Aston Martin in P10, a position he was able to hold throughout the race to score a valuable point.

And with Sauber closing in on them in the Constructors’ Championship, every point counts.

Loser: Alpine

Rooted firmly at the bottom of the Constructors’ table, Alpine seem desperate for points, a feat that they were unfortunately unable to achieve at the Circuit of Americas.

Franco Colapinto and Pierre Gasly came home in 17th and 19th, respectively.

Gasly’s recent resurgence was not renewed. His overall lack of pace, compounded by a slow pit stop which saw him thrown into an on-track battle with Esteban Ocon, further weakened his chances of climbing up the points. 

Insult was added to injury for the Frenchman as he was overtaken by team-mate Colapinto in the closing laps of the race, despite orders from the team for the Argentinian to hold position. 

While Alpine director Steven Nielsen labelled the move “disappointing,” many fans saw it as justified due to Colapinto clearly having the pace advantage.

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