After a thrilling race in Brazil, the drivers’ championship looks to be wrapped up. Max Verstappen won the rain-soaked grand prix from seventeenth on the grid. His championship rival Lando Norris only finished sixth after starting on pole. This has opened up a 62-point advantage for the Dutchman over the Brit.
Norris needed to take advantage of Verstappen starting at the back of the grid. However, he couldn’t. According to Red Bull advisor, Helmut Marko, the Brazilian Grand Prix showed why Lando isn’t ready to become world champion.
Helmut Marko believes Max Verstappen outshined Lando Norris
Norris had an error-strewn grand prix in the wet after a near-faultless sprint. The 24-year-old lost the lead into turn one from George Russell. Also in turn one, after the rolling start, Norris ran off track, allowing George Russell and Charles Leclerc through. Norris also ran wide into turn four, costing him time to the Ferrari.
All while Verstappen barely put a foot wrong. The three-time world champion made up seven places alone on the first lap and produced an overtaking masterclass. Of course, the red flag helped Max jump Norris and Russell but with the Red Bull driver’s pace, he would have caught them quite quickly.
Helmut Marko believes this race showed why Verstappen is a champion and Norris isn’t. The Austrian said: “He (Verstappen) was faultless and we couldn’t say that about Lando Norris. Whether this is a giant step toward the title? No, I think this is the title. Here you could see who the real champion is.”
Norris had to take advantage of Verstappen’s engine penalty and poor qualifying. It looked as if the pressure got to both him and the team. On the other hand, Verstappen produced a masterclass in wet racing, showing why he is an incredible talent.
Can Max Verstappen Clinch the WDC in Las Vegas?
With such a margin, Verstappen could become champion next time out in Las Vegas. Lando Norris will have to outscore Max Verstappen by a big haul of points and win the race himself. However, if the Dutchman outscores Norris even by a point, the championship race is over.
Right now, Verstappen is leading the Championship by 62 points. After the Las Vegas GP, if Verstappen is leading by more than 60 points, he would have clinched the Championship.
The saving grace for Norris is that McLaren does have the fastest car in dry conditions, as shown in the Brazil sprint race. They both qualified on the front row and led home to secure a one-two finish. They will most likely have the fastest car in Vegas too. It is more whether Norris and his team can keep their nerve.
Max Verstappen is potentially one race away from a fourth straight F1 world title 🏆 pic.twitter.com/7vN1ZmSq4H
— Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) November 4, 2024
Realistically, the Brazilian Grand Prix has handed Max the championship. Norris would need the three-time world champion to DNF in a race to claw back some big points to pressurize the Dutchman again. Verstappen and Red Bull haven’t been faultless this year but their know-how and blistering start to the season should secure that fourth title.
