Oscar Edges Ever Closer to Greatness
Posted on October 15, 2025 Tags: Formula One
Can Max sort ‘em out again?
AUSSIE OSCAR PIASTRI well deserves the admiration he has attracted from F1 fans worldwide, as he edges closer to the coveted World Championship at the USA Grand Prix, with just eight events remaining in the ever-increasing battle for the 2025 crown.
This week’s spectacle at the fast, furious and colourful Circuit of the Americas – just outside Austin,, Texas – could put the icing on the coveted prize.
Fans are divided on their take on the shemozzle after lights-out in Singapore last up when Oscar was scrunched by teammate Lando Norris on the opening lap around the stunning Marina Bay Circuit.
It was a dumb, but bold, move by the Brit who somehow escaped a penalty despite shooting down any chance of another podium for Melbourne’s finest.
No surprise that Oscar was seriously pissed off. And what will happen this weekend in the Lone Star State is anyone’s guess. But it’s an event eagerly awaited by F1 fans across the globe.
One thing’s for sure Oscar needs to keep his customary cool and do his outmost to secure pole to give him every chance of another victory. And deny the fast-finishing Dutchman a coveted fifth consecutive world championship.
Oscar Piastri currently leads the driver standings with 336 points from his teammate Lando Norris 22 points behind and Max Verstappen in third, 63 points from the top.
And remember, the Circuit of The Americas also features a Sprint Race, with additional points up for grabs!
Meanwhile, an adamant McLaren CEO Zak Brown has no doubt Max s still a live threat to his team’s in-house Formula 1 title fight.
And Zak stands firm in his decision to conduct ‘papaya rules’ in the final eight races in the 2025 season, even with the Red Bull ace breathing down the team’s neck.
“We couldn’t be hungrier!”
Zak congratulates Max at Singapore
“While we’d like it to solely come down to our two guys, Max is still very much in the game,” Zak said. “I think what has been key is that the team have remained so focused but also very humble.
“So, we’re just going to keep doing what we’re doing.
“Our strategy isn’t going to change because we’ve won the Constructors’, we’re going to approach the remaining race weekends in the same way we’ve approached every one before it.
“That’s what we’re here to do: win races and win championships.
“And we couldn’t be hungrier!”
Grand Prix Points (Full Race Distance):
Awarded to the top 10 finishers.
The F1 winner takes 25 points, second 18, third 15, fourth 12, fifth 10, sixth 8, seventh 6, eighth 4, ninth 2, tenth 1.
🚫 Note: The bonus point for fastest lap was removed for 2025.
Sprint Race Points
Awarded to the top 8 finishers (and only awarded if the leader completes more than 50% of the sprint distance):
Winner 8 points, second 7, third 6, fourth 5, fifth 4, sixth 3, seventh 2, eighth 1.
There is also Shortened Race Points category, which are distance-based. But we won’t go there for fear of my doing your head in!
George in Career Best Form
Mercedes star George Russell surely must be edging ever closer to inking his signature on a lucrative contract for season 2026 and beyond given the fine performances he has shown so far this season. The likeable lanky Brit won from pillar to post at Singapore, to bring in his second win, after Canada. George also has scored eight podiums, two poles and fastest laps, for a total of 237 points to date to sit in a handy fourth on the championship standings.
COTA – Where legends thrive
The 5.513km long Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas – venue of this weekend’s United States Grand Prix – is recognised as among the most complete racetracks on the F1 calendar.
Run over 56 laps in an anticlockwise direction, it boasts 20 corners, incorporating sections reminiscent of legendary Formula 1 circuits, with corners taking inspiration from Silverstone’s Maggots-Becketts sequence, Suzuka, Hockenheim, and even Istanbul Park’s famous layout.
Perhaps its most distinctive feature is a 41metre elevation change, most noticeable with the steep climb immediately after the start line.
The variety of corners requires a versatile set-up that can provide top-end speed while still ensuring stability through the more technical sections.
Pirelli says tyre loading is evenly balanced across the front and rear axles, but lateral forces are greater than longitudinal ones due to the many high-speed corners and rapid direction changes.
Your Attractive Heading
AUSTIN, TEXAS, USA
Tyre degradation is typically thermal in nature and is also influenced by ambient temperature, which can still be quite high in Texas in October. Last year, during the race, the mercury rose above the 30°C mark and next weekend looks set to be similar. The track was partially resurfaced last year, making it smoother and less bumpy than in the past.
The Compounds
As the Stars and Stripes unfurl as F1 lands in Austin, Texas this weekend at the Circuit of the Americas, teams have a trio of tyre compounds featuring an extra step between the Hard and the Medium-Soft pair.
Pirelli reckons this interesting experiment this could lead to a greater choice of strategies on one of the most complete tracks on the calendar.
The United States Grand Prix is the second race of the season for which Pirelli is bringing three non-consecutive compounds – the last being Spa-Francorchamps – and the available tyres again are the C1 as Hard, the C3 as Medium and the C4 as Soft.
In Belgium, bad weather meant it was not possible to find out how this choice might have affected strategy. And so the event in COTA could be the first real test of this choice, which sees the use of a harder Hard than last year at the American track, while the Medium and Soft are the same.
Another similarity with the Belgian round is that Austin is also running to the Sprint format, meaning teams only have one hour to try the various options over long and short runs, adding to the uncertainty as to how the weekend might pan out.
In 2024 15 drivers started last year’s race in Austin on the Medium tyre, including the trio that made it to the podium.
Statistics Corner
Lewis Hamilton holds the record for the most wins (five in Austin and one in Indianapolis), just one fewer than Michael Schumacher (who won five times at Indianapolis). The two are tied for pole positions with four apiece. Hamilton also clinched two of his world titles in Texas, his third in 2015 and his sixth in 2019. As for the constructors, Ferrari holds the record for the most wins on eleven: two at Watkins Glen, five at Indianapolis, and four in Austin.
RACE SCHEDULE
My Time Western Australia
UNITED STATES GRAND PRIX
Circuit of The Americas | 1Austin, Texas 18 – 20 Oct
P1
Saturday 18th October
01:30
SPRINT SHOOTOUT
Saturday 18th October
05:30
SPRINT
Sunday 19th October
01:00
QUALIFYING
Sunday 19th October
05:00
RACE
Monday 20th October
03:00
NEXT EVENT
MEXICAN GRAND PRIX
Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez | 25 – 27 Oct
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