Getty images / Red Bull Content Pool
Max Verstappen’s incredible drive to victory from a17th place starting slot at the Brazilian GP further extended his lead at the top of the Formula 1 driver’s standings.
Coming in to the Las Vegas Grand Prix there are only 3 races left. Max can seal the title at Vegas, but there are a number of things Lando can also do to keep the championship hunt alive a little longer.
The Championship standings
With Max starting the Brazilian Grand Prix in a lowly 17th place and Lando on pole, most of us thought this was Norris’ chance to reclaim a big chunk of points in the title hunt and reduce the gap to the flying Dutchman.
But Verstappen had other ideas, and produced one of the most impressive drives of his career, and one of the most impresive in Formula 1 history, to score a victory that nobody expected.
That leaves the points for each of the two drivers as follows heading in to Vegas:
- Max Verstappen – 393 pts
- Lando Norris – 361 pts
That’s a 62 point gap between Norris and Verstappen. The third place driver is Charles Leclerc on 307 points, and he’s now too far back to be able to win the title.
Getty images / Red Bull Content Pool
How many points are left up for grabs?
The three races left this season are at Las Vegas, Qatar and Abu Dhabi. Qatar features a sprint race, the other two are just the Grand Prix . That means, including the point available for the fastest lap during a GP, there are a total of 86 points remaining.
Points available at each of the last 3 races:
- Las Vegas: 26 points available
- Qatar: 34 points available
- Abu Dhabi: 26 points available
Obviously, as we progress through the last three rounds, the total number of points available will reduce. Currently, heading in to the Las Vegas GP, there are 86 points up for grabs. But that will change after each race.
Points available after each of the last 3 races:
- Points available after Las Vegas: 60
- Points available after Qatar: 26
- Points available after Abu Dhabi: 0
Here’s a reminder of the Formula 1 points system:
| Position | Points |
|---|---|
| 1 | 25 |
| 2 | 18 |
| 3 | 15 |
| 4 | 12 |
| 5 | 10 |
| 6 | 8 |
| 7 | 6 |
| 8 | 4 |
| 9 | 2 |
| 10 | 1 |
| Fastest Lap | 1 |
How Verstappen can seal the deal in Vegas
So, with just 60 points left available this season after Las Vegas, Verstappen will become a four-time world champion if he finishes the race weekend with a gap of over 60 points to Norris in the standings.
As the current gap between the two drivers is 62 points, if Max finishes ahead of Norris in any position, he will take the title.
If both drivers finish out of the points and fail to score, Max will again be crowned world champion as the gap of 62 points will stay the same, and that’s more than the 60 points left available at the last 2 races.
Also, if Lando fails to score then Max will take the title. Norris has to reduce the gap to Verstappen by at least 3 points. A DNF or a non-points finish would be fatal to the Mclaren driver’s championship hopes.
But even if Lando finishes ahead, there’s a few ways that Max can still take the title at Vegas:
- If Norris finishes P2 and Max finishes P3 with the fastest lap
- If Norris finishes P3 and Max finishes P4 with the fastest lap
- If Norris finishes P4 (no fastest lap) and Max finishes P5
- If Norris finishes P5 (no fastest lap) and Max finishes P6
- If Norris finishes P6 (no fastest lap) and Max finishes P7
- If Norris finishes P7 (no fastest lap) and Max finishes P8
- If Norris finished P8 (no fastest lap) and Max finishes P9
- If Norris finishes P9 (no fastest lap) or lower then Max will take the title
Getty images / Red Bull Content Pool
How Lando can keep his title hopes alive
All of that makes for pretty grim reading if you’re in Lando Norris’ camp, but all isn’t lost. There’s still a number of ways the Englishman can keep the title hunt alive on the Sin City Strip. He just needs to outscore Max by a minimum of 3 points.
If Lando wins the race, the championship battle will continue in to the final two rounds. A Norris victory at Vegas would score him 25 points. The most points Max could take would then be 19 if he finishes second with the fastest lap. That would reduce the defict to 56 points, under the maximum of 60 available at the final two races.
There also a number of other ways Lando can keep the title hunt going, depending on where he finishes within the top 10:
- Lando finishes P2 and Max finishes P3 without fastest lap
- Lando finishes P3 and Max finishes P4 without fastest lap
- Lando finishes P4 with the fastest lap and Max finishes P5 (or lower)
- Lando finishes P5 with the fastest lap and Max finishes P6 (or lower)
- Lando finishes P6 with the fastest lap and Max finishes P7 (or lower)
- Lando finishes P7 with the fastest lap and Max finishes P8 (or lower)
- Lando finishes P8 with the fastest lap and Max finishes P9 (or lower)
- Lando finishes P9 with the fastest lap and Max finishes out of the points (11th or lower)
All to play for on the streets of Vegas
Whatever the outcome of the Las Vegas Grand Prix, it’s all to play for. From a neutral position, it’d be great to see the championship challenge go as far as possible. For that to happen Norris needs a good weekend. To stay in the hunt and reduce the deficit as much as possible, he needs a win.
It’s not outside the realms of possibility for Norris to stay in the hunt, but there’s still a high likelihood that Verstappen will take his fourth title under the bright lights of Sin City.
