F1 leader Piastri in poor form and fighting to hold off Norris and Verstappen in title chase

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Oscar Piastri likely can't leave Texas fast enough.

McLaren's Formula 1 championship leader certainly wasn't very fast Sunday at the Circuit of the Americas as teammate and title rival Lando Norris and Red Bull's Max Verstappen both took big bites out his points advantage at the United States Grand Prix.

Verstappen won for the third time in four races and Norris finished second. Piastri was a disappointing fifth.

What looked like a cruise control finish to his first career championship over the summer is now shaping up as a potential heart-pounding grind over the final five races of the season starting next weekend in Mexico City.

Piastri still leads Norris by 14 points and Verstappen by 40, but nothing feels comfortable any more.

“I’d still rather be where I am than the other two, but obviously this weekend was not what I wanted or expected," Piastri said.

His misery started Saturday when he crashed into Norris on the first turn of the sprint race and knocked out both cars. Verstappen won the sprint, punctuating the the mishap between teammates that came in the first race after first-lap scrap in Singapore had raised internal tension.

Piastri started Sunday sixth but only made up one place. The Verstappen-Norris 1-2 finish made it the fourth consecutive race Piastri has lost points to both drivers.

Verstappen has shaved a 104-point deficit to 40 in just four races. That includes the Azerbaijan Grand Prix when Piastri crashed on the first lap.

“Max and Red Bull have found a lot of pace since the summer break. We saw flashes of it at the start of the year, but it’s been consistent since then,” Piastri said.

Piastri said before the race he did not expect the team to favor either driver for the championship over the final stretch of the season. He was asked again after his poor race on Sunday.

“I don’t think so. We are so incredibly tight and we both said we want an opportunity to try and fight for the championship because we deserve it," Piastri told Sky Sports. "I think it is far too close to start picking one or the other.”

McLaren team principal Andrea Stella said the team should relish the chance to fight for a drivers championship.

“It is a privilege to be there, we have the pace to be there. It is about execution, believing in it and we do believe,” Stella said. "We never want to lose the joy of doing that. The tension is part of the game.”

AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing

McLaren driver Oscar Piastri of Australia prepares for the qualification for the Formula One U.S. Grand Prix race in Austin, Texas, Saturday, Oct. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/John Locher)

McLaren driver Oscar Piastri of Australia steers his car during the Formula One U.S. Grand Prix auto race in Austin, Texas, Sunday, Oct. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

TOKYO (AP) — A 243-kilogram (535-pound) bluefin tuna sold for a record 510 million yen ($3.2 million) at the first auction of 2026 at Tokyo's Toyosu fish market.

The top bidder for the prized tuna at the predawn auction on Monday was Kiyomura Corp., whose owner Kiyoshi Kimura runs the popular Sushi Zanmai chain.

Kimura, who has often won the annual action in the past, broke the previous record of 334 million yen ($2.1 million) he set in 2019.

The pricey fish was caught off the coast of Oma in northern Japan, a region widely regarded for producing some of the country’s finest tuna, and costs 2.1 million yen ($13,360) per kilogram ($6,060 per pound).

Hundreds of tuna are sold daily at the early morning auction, but prices are significantly higher than usual for the Oma tuna, especially at the celebratory New Year auction.

Due to the popularity of tuna for sushi and sashimi, Pacific bluefin tuna was previously a threatened species, but its stock is recovering following conservation efforts.

Wholesalers inspect bluefin tuna at the New Year's tuna auction at Toyosu fish market in Tokyo, Monday, Jan. 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Louise Delmotte)

Wholesalers inspect bluefin tuna at the New Year's tuna auction at Toyosu fish market in Tokyo, Monday, Jan. 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Louise Delmotte)

A bluefin tuna that won the highest bid at the annual New Year auction is carried to a Sushi Zanmai restaurant in Tokyo, Monday, Jan. 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Louise Delmotte)

Kiyoshi Kimura, president of Kiyomura Co., poses with the bluefin tuna that won the highest bid at the annual New Year auction in Tokyo, Monday, Jan. 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Louise Delmotte)

Members of the press take photographs of a bluefin tuna that won the highest bid at the annual New Year auction displayed at Sushi Zanmai restaurant in Tokyo, Monday, Jan. 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Louise Delmotte)