The incident happened weeks after Norris nudged Piastri towards the trackside wall after hitting the back of Verstappen\u2019s car in<\/a> Singapore, with McLaren warning there would be \u201crepercussions\u201d.<\/p>\n McLaren CEO Zak Brown said the sprint race collision was \u201ca brutal day in the office\u201d, conceding the team would review everything that happened.<\/p>\n Verstappen won the sprint race for the third year in a row, adding to his growing list of recent triumphs in the latter half of the season, including the Italian and Azerbaijan grands prix.<\/p>\n Piastri still leads the championship race by 14 points, ahead of Norris. However, Verstappen only sits 40 points away from Piastri and 26 points behind Norris \u2013 that\u2019s almost the equivalent of just one race win (25 points).<\/p>\n It\u2019s been more than seven weeks since a McLaren driver won a grand prix and in the past five rounds, Verstappen (119) has scored the same number of points as the McLaren drivers combined (Piastri 62, Norris 57).<\/p>\n Verstappen is a feasible contender to win the championship and he knows it.<\/p>\n The Red Bull star smiled when Sky Sports\u2019 commentator Martin Brundle described his race as a \u201cchampion\u2019s drive\u201d.<\/p>\n Loading<\/p>\n \u201cIt was an unbelievable weekend for us … I knew the race was not going to be super straightforward,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cYou must be thinking, I can do this, there\u2019s a chance,\u201d Brundle said to him.<\/p>\n \u201cYes for sure there\u2019s a chance there,\u201d Verstappen replied.<\/p>\n \u201cWe just need to deliver these kinds of weekends until the end.\u201d<\/p>\n Known for a sometimes tense relationship with media, Verstappen has been reserved and borderline nonchalant about his chances of winning the championship all year, shrugging off reporters\u2019 previous questions about retaining his title.<\/p>\n Oscar Piastri is remaining optimistic despite finishing in fifth place at the US Grand Prix. Credit: Getty Images<\/p>\n The press conference in Texas marked a noticeable shift in attitude: a revived Red Bull under new team principal Laurent Mekies can compete for the drivers\u2019 championship, and more importantly, potentially force McLaren\u2019s hand in selecting a driver to focus all their attention on.<\/p>\n![\"Oscar](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/284c14796526f54bcc95249539daf357bb07b6eb.jpeg\")
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