With four races left in the season, the Driver’s Championship is firmly hunted by 3 drivers in the title with only 36 points separating them, currently boiled down to a three-way duel.
Norris took the championship lead from his McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri after his dramatic win at the Autodromo circuit with just a one-point lead ahead of his teammate. Norris currently stands at 357 points and leaves Piastri at 356 points. Meanwhile, the four-time world champion, Verstappen remains in the hunt. His realistic pathway to the title progressively gets narrower.
Why was Piastri the early favorite?
Oscar Piastri started the season strong. The Australian made an extraordinary start earning himself 8 consecutive podiums and 5 victories throughout the entire season, showing great consistency in the race qualifying as well. At one point, the Australian had a 30- point lead over Norris.
However, the Australian has made a lot of mistakes of late over the last five events. A one- point deficit at the top is almost intangible. Piastri can simply avoid it by taking the lead ahead of Lando in the next race at Sao Paulo.
Can Lando hold the lead?
Of the two, Lando Norris has been driving at a better momentum than his teammate from the brilliant weekend at Mexico. The major question that lies here is will he be able to hold the lead in the next race?
Till now, Norris is favorite for the title. He has come from the depths of his issues with the car earlier in the season. If momentum exists in F1, Norris certainly has it. “The car is just quick. It has been the whole season, but clearly, it’s still difficult to drive at times,” said Norris.
Also read: F1: Can Max Verstappen Still Win the 2025 Title? Points Gap and Scenarios Explained
Can Verstappen win it?
The four-time world champion, Max Verstappen remains a threat to the McLaren drivers. The Dutch racing driver brings experience, the mentality and a car perfectly fit to win a championship. Verstappen is the man who can do it. With falling short of 35- points, Verstappen cannot afford the slightest slip up in his next four races.
With 116 points still up for grabs across all four races and two sprints in Brazil, the Dutchman needs to outscore Norris by an average of 9.25 points and 9 points against Piastri to be crowned as the world champion in Abu Dhabi. This significantly means that Verstappen would have to win all his races to keep his title hopes alive until the very end.
McLaren and Redbull would have design strategies that would not end up either of their cars chances of finishing the race. Mechanical failures, bad tire strategies or pit-stop errors would be a bad swing for the title. Being in the lead or even chasing the title, both the aspects create immense pressure to the teams and the drivers, but experience helps which gives Verstappen a slight upshift.
Who might take the title?
Norris must be the favorite for now with his current lead on the table and looks to be gathering momentum at the right time. The second choice would be the Australian driver from McLaren, falling behind Norris in the table. He has the strongest season start, but his races lately have been completely with mistakes.
Max Verstappen has an outside shot at the title. With his experience and ability to push a comeback even from his grave, the Dutchman has the perfect potential shot at the title.
Drivers Standings as of 29/10/25
Written by: Atin Kevin Fernandez