F1 Standings 2025: Max Verstappen given HUGE boost after McLaren nightmare

Four-time F1 champion Max Verstappen has been given a major boost in his fight for the 2025 drivers' title after a nightmare for McLaren at the US Grand Prix weekend.

On Friday in COTA, Verstappen picked up his third consecutive sprint pole position at the Texan track, going on to cement his status as the sprint king the following day with the 13th sprint race victory of his career.

McLaren got unlucky at Turn 1 on the first lap of the 100km event as championship leader Oscar Piastri touched wheels with the Sauber of Nico Hulkenberg.

A domino effect ensued, sending Piastri hurtling into his team-mate Lando Norris, taking them both out of the race and crucially, the chance to pick up more points.

Verstappen's win in the 2025 US GP sprint meant he picked up the maximum of eight points on offer on Saturday, and after a double point-less outing for the top two in the drivers' standings, the title race has been blown wide open.

The champion secured his 68th career win on Sunday at the US Grand Prix, leading from lights out until the chequered flag, while Norris finished behind in second.

Charles Leclerc completed the podium, while championship leader Piastri finished down in fifth with a further dent delivered to his championship lead.

A fight down to the wire could now be very much on the cards and after a disaster for McLaren's driver duo, the Dutchman is now 40 points behind standings leader Piastri and 26 points behind Norris.

Thanks to Verstappen's US GP victory and Yuki Tsunoda's seventh place finish, Red Bull are within three points of Ferrari in the constructors' championship.

Here is how the F1 standings look after the 2025 US Grand Prix sprint race!

F1 Drivers' Standings after 2025 US Grand Prix Sprint

F1 Constructors' Standings after 2025 US Grand Prix Sprint

2025 rule change removes fastest lap point

The fastest lap point has been removed for the 2025 season. Since 2019, drivers have picked up an extra point if they finish in the top 10 and achieve the fastest lap.

However, in the past, this led to some drivers abandoning their races to pit and fit a new set of tyres in the final stages of the race in order to claim the fastest lap point or prevent a rival from getting the extra point, playing the tactical long game in the championship standings.

The most famous example of this last season came during Daniel Ricciardo's final F1 race, when the Australian finished last but claimed the fastest lap on the final lap of the Singapore GP, taking the extra point away from Norris and helping Verstappen's 2024 title bid.

F1 HEADLINES: Verstappen given Red Bull scare as F1 star given FIA summons

READ MORE: Kravitz reveals what Norris's McLaren penalty could be after Red Bull enquiry

F1 RESULTS: Verstappen US Grand Prix blitz leaves McLaren panicking

READ MORE: Ferrari release curious statement after Horner links

Written by

Kerry Violet - F1 News Editor

Having graduated from the University of Sheffield with a 2:1 in Journalism in 2022, Kerry continued her pursuit of finding a full-time position in motorsport through work with the F1 Arcade in London, where she got to meet true fans of the sport and make a live grand prix watch party memorable for them. It was here that she confirmed her dream of combining her background in journalism and love of motorsport, going on to volunteer with the female-led platform Empoword Journalism. Having completed stints as a screen editor and sports editor, Kerry landed her first F1-specific editorial role with GPFans and has thoroughly enjoyed continuing to work closely with the sport ever since. The access GPFans offers Kerry has allowed her to interview big names such as Naomi Schiff and David Coulthard and given her experiences she could only have dreamt of as a young F1 fan.

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