Austin race weekend crucial for Verstappen as McLaren's Norris closes in

Max Verstappen and Red Bull are in retreat as the Formula 1 season resumes in Texas.

The series returns from a month-long autumn break at the United States Grand Prix with the Dutch driver still leading the championship, but his car has gone backward in terms of performance and results while McLaren's Lando Norris pulls ever closer in the title chase.

The last time on the track, Verstappen finished second in Singapore, only to watch Norris drive off in the distance and win by a whopping 21 seconds. It was the kind of gap Verstappen crushed the field with all last season.

“After Singapore I just wanted to keep going. We were in a good rhythm. I think we still are in a good rhythm and have been for quite a while," Norris said.

Verstappen still has a 52-point lead as he chases his fourth consecutive championship with six races left. That race gap to Norris in Singapore was worrisome, and raised more pressure on Red Bull to reverse its slide, or at least find something that can keep Norris at bay.

The race weekend at the Circuit of the Americas has a lot of points on offer that Norris can snatch if Red Bull continues to struggle. Saturday features the first sprint race since Austria in June.

Verstappen has won all three previous sprint races this season and has won the main race in Austin the last three years. But he hasn't won this season since the Spanish Grand Prix on June 23 and has earned just three podium finishes in that span. Verstappen at times has described his once dominant car as “undrivable" and a “monster."

McLaren has already overtaken Red Bull to seize the lead in the team constructors' championship, and another win on a track where Verstappen has been dominant would be a dagger.

Red Bull is bringing a package of upgrades it hopes will get its once dominant car back to the front.

Verstappen stopped short of calling it a make-or-break race weekend in the title chase, but teammate Sergio Perez called it “crucial" for Red Bull.

The first results were positive for Red Bull: Verstappen qualified for pole position for the Saturday sprint race, putting 0.250 seconds between himself and Norris in fourth.

“I’m happy with today. The whole day the car was working quite well. Happy to be first, it’s been a while," Verstappen said. “We’ll do the best we can tomorrow in the sprint, but we know the most points are available on Sunday. That's where we really want to do well."

Norris sounded confident this week that McLaren will keep the pressure on Red Bull.

“I know people ask every weekend if this is a weekend that’s going to change something. It can go my way. It can go Max’s way," Norris said. “But I’m happy with what we’re doing as a team and how we’re working together. ... It’s not easy. I need more than just me first and Max second."

Mercedes driver George Russell predicted Norris to win the title based on current form, despite the points gap.

“I think Lando can absolutely win this championship and I would probably say he’s (the) favorite to do so with their form right now comparing with Red Bull," Russell said.

McLaren chief executive Zak Brown tapped the brakes on that just a bit.

“A lot of racing left to go," Brown said. "We’re going to need Lando to win a lot of races and Max to have an unusually bad day."

Red Bull inspection

Red Bull allowed race stewards to inspect Verstappen's cockpit in front of television cameras to give them a look at a device it is believed could be used to adjust the height of the car.

Rival teams have worried it could be used to change car height between qualifying and a race, which is strictly prohibited.

Red Bull has insisted the device is inaccessible once the car is assembled, and that the team never cheated. Still, the FIA said it will tighten parc ferme requirements, and applied a seal to the device in the Red Bull cars that will show if there is any tampering.

Small talk

Verstappen said he will continue to give short answers in official race news conferences after he was punished by the sport's governing body FIA for swearing in Singapore.

“I prefer of course to talk less, so it’s fine anyway for me." Verstappen told reporters gathered Thursday on the porch of the Red Bull team hospitality tent.

Russell, who is a director of the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association, said the drivers will likely issue a statement on the matter next week ahead of the Mexico City Grand Prix.

“We don’t want to be taking away the heat of the moment emotions that drivers show during a race," Russell said.

“For the drivers, it is very challenging when you have a microphone, you’re talking with your team, you’re in the middle of battle," Russell said. “But if it’s an environment like this maybe we have a duty to be conscious of our words."

Smooth surface

Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari's Charles Leclerc were disqualified from their second and sixth place finishes in Austin last year when their cars failed post-race inspections for worn down skid blocks.

Mercedes blamed the problem in part on the bumps around COTA, which other drivers, notably Verstappen, had complained as not worthy of an F1 venue.

The track has since then been completely resurfaced. And it has already seen some racing. The Lone Star Le Mans World Endurance Championship race last month broke in the new surface.

Pit stops

Austin is the first stop in a triple-header of races, with Mexico City and Sao Paolo in Brazil the next two weeks. ... Williams driver Alex Albon will be racing his 100th grand prix. Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso will be starting his 397th.

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