Just Nine Points Split Four Drivers in Fight for Second After US Grand Prix

The fight for second place in the Formula 1 championship is now the tightest battle on the grid after the United States Grand Prix, with only nine points separating four drivers. George Russell holds second on 242 points, with Lewis Hamilton on 241, Max Verstappen on 236 and Charles Leclerc on 233. Before Austin, the gap between second and fifth stood at 23 points, so a single race wiped out more than half of that margin, with five races still to run.

Russell had the quietest weekend of the four, finishing eighth in Austin, 54 seconds behind winner and team-mate Kimi Antonelli, and collecting just four points. He crossed the line behind both McLarens and Red Bull's Isack Hadjar, and his cushion over Hamilton has shrunk from nine points to a single point. The three drivers behind him all outscored him by at least eight points in one afternoon, which shows how quickly the picture can change.

With Antonelli's championship lead now commanding, the battle for runner-up has become the championship within the championship. Every qualifying position, every fastest lap and every point will matter across the final five races. Russell still leads the group, but he no longer controls it — and that is what makes the run-in so compelling.