Red Bull and their ace driver Max Verstappen have emphatically defended their respective titles.

Red Bull wrapped up the Constructors’ title during Round 17 in Japan, while Verstappen sealed the deal with a second-place finish in the sprint race on October 7 in Qatar – he went on to win the Grand Prix on Sunday for good measure.

Red Bull and Mercedes have been the top two teams for almost two decades, with the teams swapping eras of complete dominance. Fresh off Red Bull’s four-year streak, Mercedes followed with a staggering eight wins in a row. Red Bull has now won two in a row and is enjoying a return to the front of the grid.

With the champions already decided, there are still some intriguing developments to take shape in the remaining five rounds. Red Bull’s second driver, Sergio Perez seemed poised to help Red Bull get a 1,2 in the driver’s championship. However, his season has taken a turn and the Mexican has been plagued with a few uncharacteristic weekends, including several crashes and time deducting penalties.

Going into the Austin Grand Prix scheduled for October 20-22, Perez is only 30 points ahead of Sir Lewis Hamilton, who sits in third place in the championship. Hamilton himself has to execute an impeccable rest of the year to keep his former teammate Fernando Alonso at bay. After passing the Spaniard for third, Hamilton has maintained a precarious lead.

This lead was shortened even further after Hamilton crashed out in the first lap and failed to capitalise on his P3 starting position in Qatar. The gap between third and fourth now sits at a mere 11 points.

It will be very interesting to see how the rest of the podium will pan out with so little separating Perez, Hamilton and Alonso.

Even though the pressure to contribute to his team is purely academic for Perez, with Red Bull already the winner, the same cannot be said of his closest rivals in the drivers’ race. Both Alonso and Hamilton have to deliver maximum results from the remaining races to aid their team’s final positions in the constructor’s championship.

The Silver Arrows currently sit in second place but the fast-charging Ferrari has closed the gap significantly in the last few rounds. After Hamilton’s crash with his teammate and Carlos Sainz’s fuel problem, both teams only had one car left in Qatar.

George Russell recovered well from the collision that saw him fall to the back of the field and finished the race, in fourth, just ahead of Charles Leclerc, who ended in fifth. This ensured that Mercedes scored more points than Ferrari and maintained their second-place position going into Austin. The two teams are currently separated by 28 points.

Both Brits for Mercedes will have to be laser-sharp the rest of the season to ensure their team’s position remains the same, meanwhile, Leclerc and Sainz will have to outpace their counterparts if they wish to have the second podium place.

While Ferrari battles Mercedes for second, Aston Martin is desperately clinging to fourth position and it is not looking promising. McLaren is a paltry 11 points behind and with new upgrades to the car and both Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri driving like men possessed, the team looks poised to make a push into fourth. Another major point of concern is that Aston Martin’s second driver, Canadian Lance Stroll, is doing an awful job of supporting Alonso’s endeavors. Alonso has managed to get some impressive results out of the car, including seven podiums so far this season. He seems to be single-handedly keeping Aston Martin afloat, as Stroll has made it a point to crash out of qualifying Saturday in Round 1 and always finds himself barely fighting for points come race Sunday.

Meanwhile, over at McClaren, Piastri has put together a remarkable second half of the season. After winning the sprint in Qatar and ensuring a second double McClaren podium in a row in the main race, Piastri has shown he deserves the resounding support he has received from the team, who has signed him up until the end of 2026. He and Norris seem to be handling the improvements to the cars well and now the partnership has ensured that Aston Martin is squarely in sight. Failing a dramatic turnaround from Stroll, it is unlikely that Alonso will be able to stave off the McClarens on his own and Aston Martin might have some considerations for that second seat come next season.

With five weekends and many points left, the tail-end of the season will bring an appropriate end to an incredible season. The permutations suggest that the remaining podium places in both competitions are left to be fought for and the teams are geared up and ready to fight for the battle to the checkered flag.