F1 Today | Stella prepares McLaren for Verstappen's charge, Hulkenberg lauds the Dutchman

Andrea Stella has doubled down on his belief that McLaren remains in control of the championship fight despite Max Verstappen’s resurgence.

The McLaren boss took positives from Lando Norris’ performance in Austin, where the Briton showed enough pace to challenge for victory if not for being stuck behind Charles Leclerc for most of the race.

“Without having to fight with Charles, I think Lando had the pace to win the race today,” Stella told GPblog.

Despite Red Bull closing the gap, with Norris now just 26 points clear of Verstappen and Oscar Piastri’s lead shrinking by 64 over the last four rounds, Stella insists McLaren’s performance was “reassuring” and proof that the car can match Verstappen on pure pace.

The Italian, however, made it clear that any title outcome rests firmly on McLaren’s execution. “When Max has the material to win, he becomes a serious candidate,” he said.

“But the outcome of this season is in our hands.” Stella believes the team’s pace in recent rounds has been good enough to secure stronger results and subtly warned that the responsibility now lies with the drivers.

Nico Hulkenberg has hailed Max Verstappen as “the boss ruling everyone at the moment” following the Dutchman’s dominant display at the United States Grand Prix.

Speaking to Viaplay, the Haas driver couldn’t hide his admiration for Verstappen’s form, describing his resurgence as “simply incredible.”

Hulkenberg said: “It’s just incredible what he does, together with Red Bull. He’s showing his class, he’s showing that he’s a four-time world champion, that he’s the boss ruling everyone at the moment.”

Verstappen once again stamped his authority at COTA, taking pole position and sweeping both the Sprint and the Grand Prix, cutting his deficit in the standings to 40 points with five races remaining.

Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff echoed the praise, telling GPblog that Verstappen’s current level is “incredible” and that both driver and team have “turned a corner” since the summer break.

Wolff admitted it’s difficult to see anyone matching the Red Bull driver’s form right now.

F1 analyst Peter Windsor also crowned Verstappen “driver of the weekend” in Austin.

Want to stay up-to-date with what happens in the F1 paddock? Then GPblog's F1 Paddock Update video is the perfect way to do it. Subscribe to GPblog's YouTube channel and turn on notifications to never miss the latest episodes.