Max Verstappen v Lando Norris: Is the Red Bull driver still a threat or it is over?

Despite dropping 49 points behind Lando Norris, the McLaren driver says Max Verstappen will continue to be a threat in races, “and you never know with the championship”.

Although the Formula 1 championship looked done and dusted for Verstappen after the Dutch Grand Prix, where he fell 104 points off the pace, the Red Bull driver hit a rich vein of form when the team unlocked the potential of the RB21 with its Monza floor.

Lando Norris v Max Verstappen: Still a threat or is it over?

⦁ Norris adamant Verstappen remains a ‘threat’
⦁ Reigning champion has a different outlook with ‘lost’ verdict
⦁ What Verstappen needs to stay in the game after Las Vegas

Three wins in four races, including a Sprint win in Austin, and a runner-up result in Singapore, saw Verstappen slash his deficit to then-championship leader Oscar Piastri to 40 points.

As the championship lead changed hands from Piastri to Norris when the latter claimed his first win in six races at the Mexican Grand Prix, Verstappen’s gap to P1 was reduced even further to 36 points.

Today, however, it’s up to 49 despite a thrilling drive from the pit lane to the podium in Brazil – a race that marked Norris’ second win on the trot on a weekend where he also bagged P1 in the Sprint.

With only 83 points still in play, Verstappen’s prospects have been dealt a huge blow.

But don’t write him off, that’s the warning from Norris.

Citing Verstappen’s pace at the Brazilian Grand Prix, where he raced from the pit lane to third place as an example, Norris warns the Dutchman won’t go down without a fight – and he’s not ruling that out.

“I’m sure he’s going to be a threat in terms of races, and you never know with the championship,” Norris said. “So it’s pointless trying to guess and come up with these things.

“But with how quick he was [in Interlagos] – he probably would have won if he started higher up.

“But that’s racing. Not everyone puts it together, and it’s easy to make mistakes in the world that we live in. We maximised this weekend for ourselves, and that’s all we have to do.

“He’ll be a threat – he always is.

“He’s always there, he’s always fighting, and I’m sure he’ll fight to the end. So I look forward to it.”

F1 2025: The season’s winners and losers

👉 The results of the F1 2025 championship

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Max Verstappen explains where he ‘lost the championship’

While Norris is wary of his Red Bull rival, Verstappen believes the title is a “lost” cause.

Despite showing race-winning pace since Formula 1’s return from the summer break, he says Red Bull’s form at the beginning of the championship sealed his defeat.

“We didn’t lose the championship here [Brazil],” he told Viaplay. “We lost the championship from the first race of the season until Zandvoort.

“We had a lot of weekends where we simply were not quick enough. Then, of course, there is a big gap to the front. We had good moments where you get some points back, but not enough, and that’s how the season goes.”

The Red Bull driver, however, says he’ll keep pushing to the final chequered flag in Abu Dhabi as there are still race wins up for grabs.

“We will still try everything we can until the end of the season to score some highlights and try to win races,” he told Sky F1. “That’s what we are here for.”

Max Verstappen’s long shot, but it’s still a shot

What a difference a year makes. Last season it was Max Verstappen who delivered the telling blow on Lando Norris’ title hopes at the Brazilian Grand Prix before wrapping it up one race later in Las Vegas.

This year, the tables have turned.

Outscoring Verstappen by 33 points to 20 at the Interlagos circuit, Norris raced out to a 49-point lead over the Red Bull driver with 83 still in play.

25 of those will be decided in Las Vegas.

If Norris claims the maximum, Verstappen has to finish second to still have a shot, but he’d only have two points grace. If the Dutchman is third, he’s out of the running.

If Norris is second, Verstappen needs P5 or better to remain in the fight, but he’d be hanging on by a single point, while if the McLaren driver is third, Verstappen needs P6 as seventh place would have them tied on points, which would eliminate the Red Bull driver as, even if he won the remaining two races in the season, he’d still lose the title on a countback (they’d have seven wins apiece, but Norris has more second place finishes).

Of course, the bonus for Verstappen would be a non-score for Norris and the win for himself, as that would slash his deficit to 24 points. It would be all to play for heading to Qatar where 33 points will be up for grabs.

But if Verstappen doesn’t score, Norris only needs a P5 to end the reigning World Champion’s hopes of a fifth title this year. But don’t write of Max Verstappen just yet.

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