For the first time in 15 years, the Formula One Drivers' Championship has come down to a three-way fight in the final race of the season. Lando Norris leads the drivers' standings, but Max Verstappen and Oscar Piastri are close behind.
'Impossible' gap
In round 15, at the Dutch Grand Prix, Piastri was leading the championship with 309 points, Norris was 34 points behind and Verstappen 104 points shy of the leader.
It has been only eight races since Piastri last stood at the top of the podium and the standings have changed dramatically. The two McLarens are still top but the new championship leader is Norris with 408 points and Piastri third with 392 points. And Verstappen in now second with 396 points, 12 points behind the leader.
How did it happen? Several events made the gap close race after race:
- Norris's DNF (did not finish) at the Dutch Grand Prix, allowing his teammate to gain a significant advantage in the drivers' standings
- Piastri's qualifying results and crashing at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix
- The double disqualification of the McLarens at Las Vegas, opening the door for Red Bull's Verstappen to tie in points with Piastri
- Everyone but the McLarens and Esteban Ocon pitting under a safety car caused by an accident involving Nico Hulkenberg and Pierre Gasly at the Qatar Gp
Who will be champion?
Twenty-three races and the most important one is the last one. The odds favour Norris, he only needs to finish on the podium this weekend, regardless of his contenders' positions.
Verstappen needs a gap of more than six points between him and Norris, and Piastri needs to finish first, no matter Verstappen's position, with Lando Norris finishing sixth or lower.
