Red Bull’s Verstappen chasing perfection as he hunts down McLaren for possible fifth F1 championship

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) - Max Verstappen is chasing perfection as he pursues a fifth Formula 1 championship.

After his dominant weekend at the United States Grand Prix, the Red Bull driver says anything is possible.

"The chance is there. I think it is exciting, and I'm really just very excited for the end," Verstappen said after his third win in four races. "I think we need to be perfect until the end."

In a season he once figured was all but lost, Verstappen now is hunting down the McLaren duo of Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris. And when he lifted the victor’s trophy on the podium Sunday, it was clear that Verstappen has grabbed this title chase by the horns and may not let go.

Verstappen’s dominant run of late has trimmed his gap with front-runner Piastri from 104 points to 40 in a span of just four races. He trails Norris by 26.

There are five races and two sprints left on the season, starting this week at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez in Mexico City, where Verstappen has five career victories.

Verstappen would be just the fourth driver to win five titles. And he would join Michael Schumacher as the only drivers to win five in a row.

After the race in Texas, Verstappen told the BBC: "We’re just going flat out."

That should unsettle McLaren.

McLaren already has won the constructors’ championship thanks to its cars’ dominance early on and over the summer. The pendulum has clearly swung toward Red Bull now, but McLaren can still bring it back.

Verstappen knows the McLaren drivers still lead the championship and still have very fast cars.

"We caught up a lot," Verstappen said. "But at the same time, you know, the gaps (between cars) are very small."

McLaren doesn’t want to show any cracks in confidence that one of its drivers can hold him off. Piastri, despite a miserable weekend in Texas with a crash in the sprint race and a fifth-place finish in the main event, noted he’s still leading the championship, even as the gap is shrinking.

"I'd still rather be where I am than the other two,” Piastri said. "My mentality hasn't changed, and it certainly won't now. I'm just trying to do the best job I can every weekend and naturally, the results will take care of themselves."

Piastri’s own mistakes have gifted Verstappen big chances to rally. He crashed out on the first lap in Azerbaijan, where Verstappen won. His crash into Norris in the Texas sprint race allowed Verstappen to take maximum points on the day.

Over the five races since the season’s summer break, Verstappen’s 119 total points have matched the two McLaren cars combined.

Norris could spoil Verstappen’s title run even if Piastri’s hopes collapse. His second-place finish in Texas pulled him with 14 points of his teammate.

"It's quite simple: Just try and beat both drivers and life's easy," Norris said.

McLaren team principal Andrea Stella had warned a month ago that Verstappen would be a title threat. Few took him seriously then.

"When I say something, I mean it,” Stella said. "For me, there's no mystery. We know that when Max has the material to win, he becomes a very serious candidate to win."