Lando Norris Wins Mexican GP: Here's How Max Verstappen Can Still Win F1 World Driver's Championship
The current 36-point gap between him and Lando Norris, but one terrible weekend for McLaren - such as the Austin Grand Prix - could bring the gap down significantly.
Four-time world champion Max Verstappen's hopes of staging the mother of all comebacks in Formula One history suffered a massive blow on Sunday when Lando Norris secured the Mexican Grand Prix.
Following a sublime performance at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, Norris comfortably finished P1, followed by Charles Leclerc (P2) and Max Verstappen (P3).
With his McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri finishing P5, Norris becomes the new leader of the World Driver's Championship table, with a tally of 357 points. He now leads Piastri by only a point and Verstappen by 36 points.
Can Verstappen Still Win The Championship?
Lando Norris' triumph doesn't do any favours for Max Verstappen's hopes of staging a late comeback. However, in hindsight, it wasn't a bad result at all for Red Bull, considering the way the car was struggling heading into the final race, with Verstappen notably starting fifth on the grid.
WIth a P3 finish, he now trails the Championship leader by 36 points, compared to 40 before the Mexican Grand Prix. He also trails second-placed Piastri by 35 points, with four races and two sprints remaining.
This means Verstappen essentially needs to outscore Norris and Piastri by a score of at least nine points in each of the four remaining weekends.
That means Verstappen cannot secure the WDC even if wins the remaining four races and two sprints, as Lando Norris finishes P2 in each of those races, he will end up with 443 points. This compares to Verstappen's 441 points, if he wins everything from now on.
Therefore, in order for Max to win, he must consistently win everything while also rely on Oscar and Norris finishing P2 and P3 alternatively and therefore, eat into each other's points.
The biggest advantage for Verstappen right now is the potential infighting between the two McLarens. Given how close the battle is, neither will be willing to play the team game and would fight until the very end, which could lead to a favourable outcome for Max.
Indeed, a potential DNF for either Lando or Piastri would essentially rule them out of the title race, provided Max consistently dominates the last four races and two sprints.
Another critical factor could be the Ferraris, who are looking strong in the business end of the championship. Charles Leclerc has finished on the podium in the last two grand prix and has eaten away points from either Lando or Piastri. If he can maintain that consistency but finish below Max, it could do wonders for the four-time world champion.
To put simply, the championship hopes for Max Verstappen is now all about a mixture of luck and domination.
The current 36-point gap between him and Lando Norris, but one terrible weekend for McLaren - such as the Austin Grand Prix - could bring the gap down significantly and make the WDC race way more balanced heading into the final few races of the season.
The next grand prix on the calendar is the Brazilian Grand Prix, where Max famously won the race despite starting 17th on the grid last year. The Dutchman will be hoping for a similar domination this time around.
