Race to the Front: Can Verstappen Hold off Norris?

Following his win in Singapore, Lando Norris sits 52 points behind Max Verstappen with 6 races left. Verstappen started the season with an impressive 7 wins from the first 10 races but has failed to get back to the top of the podium since the Spanish Grand Prix in June. Norris meanwhile has won 3 races this year but has equalled Verstappen’s 11 podiums. 

McLaren have, however, reached the top of the Constructors Championship as Norris and teammate Oscar Piastri have won a combined 5 races with 18 podiums to give them a 41-point lead over Red Bull. Verstappen’s Red Bull teammate, Sergio Perez, currently sits 8^th in the Championship with less than half the points of Verstappen. 

Early season dominance has been historically hard to overcome. In 2009, Jenson Button won 6 out of the first 7 races. After that he only reached the podium twice in the remaining 10 races yet still won the Driver’s Championship.

Verstappen is aware of this threat. He was happy with his P2 performance in Singapore later stating that “on a weekend that we knew we would struggle, to be P2 is a good achievement”. He also later thanked, his former teammate Daniel Riccardo for his decision to make a late pit stop for new tires so that he could wrestle the fastest lap away from Norris. The defending champion knows well that every point counts. 

Despite the scale of the task ahead, McLaren seem dedicated to push for a Norris victory. The BBC reported last month that Oscar Piastri, despite his good form, might be used to help Norris in his Championship bid.