Sin City welcomed 20 of the best drivers in the world to its streets, all of whom were dreaming of glory at the Las Vegas Strip Circuit. That glory came the way of Max Verstappen who walked away from Vegas with the all 25 available points. Verstappen’s evening was made that bit more ‘simply lovely’ after both McLarens were disqualified from the race due to ‘excessive wear on the rear skids’ which breached the technical regulations.
Lando Norris crossed the line in second place, 20 seconds behind Max Verstappen, which at the time would have left the Dutchman 42 points adrift of the championship leader with two races and a sprint race still to go. However, due to the McLaren pair being disqualified, He finds himself level on points with Oscar Piastri and just 24 points behind Norris, opening the championship battle right open.
Embed from Getty ImagesHow can Verstappen win the championship?
With just two races, a sprint race and a 24-point buffer, time is not on the side of Max Verstappen; though, as we’ve learnt, we can never count him out. Should the Dutchman win each of the three remaining races with Norris in second, the Brit would still seal his first drivers’ championship by nine points.
However, if Verstappen outscores Norris by an average of 12 points over the two remaining races and beats him in the sprint, he will match the record set and held by Michael Schumacher of five consecutive F1 drivers’ championships.
Of course, this is a lot easier said than done and if it were anyone but Max Verstappen on the chase, we would probably say it is done. All it takes is a bit of damage, a penalty or a McLaren disasterclass to hand the Dutchman the title. We also can’t discount Oscar Piastri and the role he could play in the final standings despite his lack of form as of late. The amount of scenarios we could go through would take far too long.
Just remember, as a neutral, you do not want Norris to outscore Verstappen and Piastri this weekend.
Should Lando Norris leave Lusial with a 26-point advantage, he will mathematically be the world champion and we will not receive the Abu Dhabi shootout we so desire and this season so deserves.