This weekend’s Austin Grand Prix was oddly reminiscent of 2023. Max Verstappen not only achieved both poles and both wins but also led every single lap of the race in a dominant fashion similar to what was considered normal 2 years ago. Oscar Piastri’s failure to perform well over the last few races has allowed Lando Norris and Max Verstappen to significantly close the gap to the championship leader.

Prior to the race, we were given a grid walk by not only our good friend Martin Brundle but also Top Gun: Maverick and Running Man actor and native Texan Glen Powell, who does surprisingly have a decent amount of wheel knowledge. The American national anthem was sung by a young boy who was actually able to hit high notes without any voice cracks. After the formation lap, all drivers were lined up in their qualifying position from yesterday (with the exclusion of Lance Stroll, who received a grid penalty from his terrorism against Esteban Ocon in the sprint).

After Crofty’s usual “It’s lights out and away we go!” we were all on the edge of our seats for turn 1 chaos, but unfortunately there weren’t any incidents. Throughout the race, we were presented with Stroll climbing his way through the backmarkers in a surprisingly clean fashion. Moreover, we got to see Charles Leclerc effectively battling with Lando Norris throughout the race, and to top it all off, Ferrari didn’t mess up their tire strategy for once.

There were some incidents during the race. Carlos Sainz attempted a risky move onto Kimi Antonelli, which resulted in Sainz crashing out of the race and Kimi dropping to the back of the pack. Sainz also received a 5-place grid penalty for this, which will be carried onto Mexico. During a battle between Yuki Tsunoda and Oliver Bearman, Yuki banged wheels with Ollie, causing the latter to spin out. Bearman did make a great recovery and finished the race in P9.

Although the race didn’t give us as much action as we’ve gotten from Texas in the last few years, it did spice up the three-way championship battle drastically. Oscar Piastri’s drop in performance, combined with Lando Norris’ better race results and Max Verstappen’s domination, has not only made this battle more competitive but has also increased the chances of the championship continuing until the last race, which is Abu Dhabi in December.

There are only 5 races left on the calendar, with Mexico City coming up next this weekend. I’ll be continuing to write the Beginner’s Guide series and keep you updated with hot takes regarding the championship battle this season. Make sure to subscribe to our newsletter and have fun reading!