Verstappen hopes to extend his lead against Hamilton by winning in Texas.

To realize his own American dream and strengthen his lead in the Formula One drivers’ world championship, Max Verstappen will try to beat Lewis Hamilton in one of the defending champion’s favorite backyards this weekend.

The Dutchman, who has placed fourth, third, and second at the Circuit of the Americas but has never won, is hoping for his first Texan victory to expand his six-point lead with six races remaining.

“In the United States, we’ve always been competitive and have come close to some good results — now it’s about turning that into a win,” he said. “We go to every race believing we can compete for at least a podium, if not a win — which is a change from previous years.

“We’re always focused on doing our best and wanting to win, and Austin will be no different. It’ll be a close fight once again, and I’m looking forward to it.”

However, Verstappen and his Red Bull crew are well aware that Mercedes has had a strong run of performances since the inaugural race in 2012, when Hamilton won the first of his five victories in eight races.

Valtteri Bottas, his teammate, won once, at the most recent event contested in 2019, while Sebastian Vettel of Red Bull triumphed in 2013 and Kimi Raikkonen in 2018.

This statistical evidence, combined with Mercedes’ ability to rebound in the last two races in Russia and Turkey, with one win each for Hamilton and Bottas, implies the Honda-powered team will have its work cut out for them this weekend.

Toto Wolff, the Silver Arrows’ team chief, remarked, “It was great to see our momentum continue last time out in Turkey.”

“We haven’t won back-to-back races in a long time, so sentiments at the factories are understandably high.

“Valtteri put up a strong effort in difficult conditions, winning his first race of the season with a perfect driving. He was in command from the beginning, and it’s a huge boost for him and his teammates.”

MERCEDES-BENZ MERCEDES-BENZ MERCEDES-BENZ

Mercedes’ recent resurgence has been aided by increased power and speed, however Hamilton’s grid penalty for switching engines in Turkey limited him to fifth place.

“The absolute view of Turkey for Lewis is that he lost one point more than Max did in the previous race in Russia with a comparable engine swap — which we can deal with,” Wolff said, adding that more dramatic twists and turns are expected before this year’s fascinating title fight is run.

Red Bull CEO Christian Horner sought to raise the stakes and put pressure on his Austrian counterpart while Wolff expressed his own bullish views.

“Toto has done an incredible job running that squad and sustaining their performance, but he’s never known anything but winning,” Horner said.

“So it’s a different kind of strain for him now. It’s not easy… When he arrived in 2013, the structure had already been erected by Ross Brawn and was in place. Lewis was already signed when he arrived…”

Horner’s words could indicate that he, too, has been feeling the fire as the phony war heated up and Mercedes pulled ahead by 36 points in the constructors’ title.

He’ll hope, however, that whatever damage they sustain in Texas can be repaired in Mexico, where Mercedes’ power units have frequently struggled to keep up with the storms.

And, much as Bottas came back to win in Turkey, Horner will be hoping Sergio Perez rises in Texas and then on home soil to play a major part in the championship run-in.

Mercedes are expected to have a power advantage on the bumpy but fast Austin circuit, particularly on the long straight, but it may not be easy if Red Bull discover a set-up that allows them to gain in other areas.

Following the Italians’ better pace in Turkey, an equally tight battle between Ferrari and McLaren is expected behind them.