Can Max Verstappen continue unexpected resurgence with emphatic statement?

Max Verstappen and Red Bull were staring down the barrel of a first winless F1 season since 2015, his rookie year, before the Baku-specification transformed the RB22 and their campaign.

Now, Verstappen stands on the precipice of sending a statement to the rest of the paddock, loud and clear.

Taking three victories in succession is nothing new for the Dutchman, who won 19 of 22 rounds in 2023, and he triumphed at the final three events of last season, as he came perilously and precariously close to winning a fifth consecutive F1 drivers' championship.

However, the idea that he would achieve such a fate this season, in Red Bull's first as a power unit manufacturer, looked laughable just three rounds ago.

But the floor and aerodynamic upgrade the team delivered for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix vaulted the 29-year-old back into contention for victories on merit, and the RB22 has looked competitive on differing track profiles since.

Now, as F1 heads to the Circuit of the Americas for the United States Grand Prix, where Verstappen won 12 months ago, he can achieve the previously-considered unthinkable.

Red Bull has been the most improved top-four team this year. Its fledgling power unit, built in partnership with Ford, has the benchmark internal combustion engine, and the Milton Keynes-based squad has clawed back over a second of lap time on the once-dominant Mercedes W17.

So, with that in mind, can Verstappen win again at COTA, to really send fear down the spines of his F1 rivals as the paddock starts to turn its attention to a 2027 that appears all to play for?

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