Max Verstappen explains 'very simple' way he'll win F1 title and issues Red Bull demand

Max Verstappen plans to 'keep winning' as he hunts down Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris in the Drivers' Championship standings.

The deficit to P1 was trimmed to just 55 points on Saturday in Austin after an opening-lap crash between the McLaren duo cleared the way for the Dutchman to clinch all eight points. However, he feels that Red Bull need to improve their package ahead of Sunday's full-distance race if he is to continue eating into the deficit.

Verstappen headed into the United States Grand Prix 63 points behind Piastri at the top, but with momentum on his side. The reigning world champion has finished ahead of both McLaren drivers in each of the last three full-length races, and if he continues at his current rate, he will take the title fight down to the wire in Abu Dhabi.

In Austin on Saturday, things panned out to perfection for the 27-year-old. Piastri was tagged by Sauber's Nico Hulkenberg at Turn One in the sprint race, sending his car airborne and wiping team-mate Norris out in the process. Verstappen, meanwhile, stormed to victory after fending off attacks from George Russell.

Asked by Sky Sports F1 reporter Rachel Brooks when he would start seriously considering his chances of winning a fifth successive Drivers' Championship crown, he replied: "Well, I mean it's very simple; if you keep winning, then that's a good thing.

"But I do think that today, of course, the sprint we won, but the pace was not where I wanted it to be. So if we want to win tomorrow, we definitely need to be stronger, and that's something that we'll analyse now - how we can find that pace."

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Despite the disastrous start, McLaren team principal Andrea Stella isn't panicking. "The implication is what the mathematics say," he told Ted Kravitz. "We lost eight points for both drivers, but we focus on ourselves.

"We know if we can race and race normally, we have a very competitive car, two strong drivers and the scores will take care of themselves. We look forward to some normal racing."

For Piastri and Norris, securing starting grid positions ahead of Verstappen will be critical when qualifying rolls around. Entering Turn One with a significant advantage all but guarantees that the driver in question will miss any potential carnage behind. Both McLaren racers will be desperate to end the Red Bull star's strong momentum in Austin on Sunday.