Max Verstappen and Red Bull were on blistering form in Austin, dominating both qualifying sessions along with relatively comfortable victories in the Sprint and the main Grand Prix.

Sprint weekends seem to suit Max’s talent and confidence, whereby you have one practice session before the relentless competition starts with Sprint Qualifying, Sprint Race, main Qualifying and, finally, the Race.

There’s a result all three days and, in many ways, they have a cumulative effect. It must be like dropping off the peloton in a cycle race, very hard to catch up.

Any problems or incidents in practice limit your car set-up time and driver confidence on what is a constantly evolving track surface. A poor Sprint Qualy is likely to follow, leaving a driver with a lower grid position for a shorter race, and where contact is much more likely to happen.

In fact, Saturday’s Sprint was more like a demolition derby.

‘A very significant moment’ – Piastri’s blame in McLaren Sprint wipe-out assessed

The data for tyre degradation, handling balance, suspension set-up, legality skid wear under the car, and fuel consumption are critical knowledge required for race-day preparation.

This was something which hurt McLaren, who were expected to be stronger once more in Austin, after Oscar Piastri was clipped and sent up on two wheels and into the rear wheel of team-mate Lando Norris, eliminating them both pretty much on the spot.

Two damaged cars to hurriedly repair before the afternoon main Qualifying, no world championship points, and zero knowledge gained for the following day.

This meant the champion McLaren team were on their back foot pretty much all weekend and would have to be a little conservative on race set-up especially in terms of the all critical ride heights on these ground effect cars.

The Piastri crash in turn one was unfortunate, but I believe he was predominantly to blame. This corner rises steeply by 40 metres, is very wide at the entry point but narrow at the apex, and only a little wider on the exit albeit with some scruffy run off space if required.

This zone invites and promotes contact, never more so than at the start when the pack is close.

It’s 215 metres from pole position to the first braking point and, of course, increasingly further for those lower on the grid. They launch off the line with 1000 horsepower available as wonderful rear tyre heaters, but the front tyres and the brakes will only have the residual heat from the formation lap.

Therefore, with some fuel on board the cars are difficult to slow down as they all head for the same apex kerb.

This first corner is also the best chance to gain positions for the rest of the race, and so all the ingredients are there for multiple contacts.

Verstappen had the perfect Sprint start, Norris alongside on the dirtier side of the track less so, but he was still able to release the brakes a little and claim the corner before his faster-starting team-mate Piastri.

Intent on making the most of Norris’s tighter entry, which would inevitably mean he’d run wide on the exit, Piastri slowed and then turned very hard to go underneath his championship rival.

These F1 cars are difficult to see out of at the best of times, and they are wide and long with enormous and sticky tyres exposed on each corner.

What Piastri did was textbook driving when in normal combat up at turn one, but not at the start as there’s virtually guaranteed to be one or more cars trying to out-brake each other into that space. And there’s no capacity for those cars to slow further or change direction quickly.

Piastri was very focused on his championship rival, and the pack simply bit him.

The crying shame for McLaren and Norris is that the now two-wheeling Piastri broke his rear wheel along with his own front suspension. With Verstappen out front it was the worst-case scenario for them.

Strangely, the only time Verstappen was challenged all weekend was by George Russell’s Mercedes in the Sprint. Max’s Red Bull looked to be a bit short of rear grip and George, who had navigated the first corner chaos nicely, was in attacking mode, even to the extent he launched up the inside of Max into turn 12 from a different post code.

Max impressively saw it coming and calmly maintained the lead. He would follow nobody else for the rest of the weekend and take the full 33 points available. That Sprint first corner was a very significant moment in this year’s Drivers’ Championship.

The Leclerc vs Norris duel that enlivened race day

Ferrari also clearly had a much better race car than qualifier, and both Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton looked more comfortable in the two races and carried good pace. Occasionally they would be rather too close for comfort for the team.

Championship leader Piastri had a relatively lacklustre weekend for him, the ultimate pace simply wasn’t there at any point, which meant sixth place on the main grid.

He navigated the first corner well this time and gained a place, but would rise no further, unable to catch the Ferraris, although it was close with Hamilton who had a very late puncture.

But he was able to stay ahead of Russell’s Mercedes, albeit half a minute off the lead at the flag. Such is the knife-edge nature of making these latest F1 cars perform well, come a slightly cooler race day with a big wind direction change and higher fuel loads and ride heights, George went from attacking Max on Saturday to not being able to remotely compete a day later.

The best entertainment of the day was Leclerc versus Norris.

Ferrari had opted for, albeit lightly used, soft tyres on the grid for Leclerc, and the rest of the top 15 were on medium tyres. Having swept around the outside of a more cautious Norris into the first corner, Leclerc even thought about taking the lead in turn two but Verstappen had that covered. And so followed a race-long battle with Norris’s McLaren.

In many ways it was a shame because it’s highly likely Lando could have at least challenged Max out front, but it wasn’t to be.

We did enjoy some very hard but fair racing by Norris and Leclerc, with the young Brit having to pass him twice as on a contrary strategy Ferrari pitted Leclerc on lap 22 for new medium compound tyres, whilst McLaren were obliged to wait until lap 32 before pitting their man for used soft compound tyres, which put him behind the Monegasque again.

Cue another feisty pass in the closing stages.

Ollie Bearman scored points in both races for Haas after a quality showing despite some adventures along the way, and Franco Colapinto passing his Alpine team-mate Pierre Gasly against team orders in a desperate duel for what was at that time 17th and 18th rather sums up how intensely competitive F1 is now.

What now for the three-way title race?

Verstappen has scored 119 of a possible 133 points in the last five races and closed down Piastri’s advantage by 60 points in the last four events, now just 40 behind.

At that rate he will be champion but some of the tracks coming up should ensure that normal service resumes for McLaren, although there is no doubt that the Red Bull is a better all-round car now and Max is on peak form.

McLaren’s ace card is that it’s two against one, and they are going to need to play that very well on every GP weekend until and including Abu Dhabi.

Formula 1’s thrilling title race heads continues at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez for the Mexico City Grand Prix this weekend, live on Sky Sports F1. Stream Sky Sports with NOW – no contract, cancel anytime