F1 drivers' championship still in McLaren's hands, says Stella

AUSTIN, Texas - McLaren boss Andrea Stella said the Formula One drivers' championship was still in his team's hands despite a dominant U.S. Grand Prix weekend for Red Bull's Max Verstappen.

McLaren have already clinched the constructors' title for a second successive year and have Australian Oscar Piastri leading the drivers' standings by 14 points from British teammate Lando Norris.

The Woking team last won the drivers' crown with Lewis Hamilton in 2008 and have not completed a championship double since 1998.

Verstappen, chasing a fifth title in a row, is 40 points off the lead but has slashed the gap from 104 at the end of August with three wins in the last four races. There are five rounds remaining.

"I think in terms of the trend today (Sunday) is a relatively reassuring race because I think without having to fight with Charles (Leclerc), which was certainly an entertaining fight itself, I think Lando had the pace to win," Stella told reporters.

"Performance-wise, I think we are reassured that the pace was sufficient to fight for the victory."

STELLA SPELLS OUT THE MCLAREN MINDSET

Norris started the race on the front row, with Verstappen on pole, but Ferrari's Leclerc passed him at the start on soft tyres. The Briton was then held up as he tried to get back in front, doing so twice.

Verstappen also won the Saturday sprint from pole, with Norris and Piastri colliding and failing to finish the 100km race -- a serious setback that also impacted the main race given the lack of data collected.

Stella repeated his view that Verstappen remained in the fight for the title.

"For me, there's no mystery. We know that when Max has the material to win, he becomes a very serious candidate to win. So, it doesn't change what our understanding of the situation is, it doesn't change what we do," he added.

"We just have to keep maximising the performance and keep executing good weekends.

"The outcome of this season and the drivers' championship is in our hands, it's not in someone else's hands. That's the mindset that we want to have and that's the mindset that we will have."

McLaren have not won since Piastri triumphed in the Dutch Grand Prix on August 31, a run of four races without standing on the top step of the podium.   

"The fact that there are five races and two sprints means that we can also increase the gap to Max. I think we have good tracks coming for our car and we have more that we could have exploited out of our car."

The next race, round 20 of the 24-race season, is in Mexico City this weekend.

Stella said there would be no upgrades or new parts for the rest of the season, with the focus on the 2026 car. REUTERS