With Daniel Riccardo earning the fastest lap at the Singapore Grand Prix, all Max Verstappen has to do is finish second for the last six races to win his fourth World Drivers’ Championship title. If this was 2023, there wouldn’t be a doubt that Verstappen can do it. However, with the RB20 being less dominant, the battle for the championship is tighter than ever.
When one team falls, there is always another team in the shadows waiting to pounce. That team? McLaren. After a few inner struggles, McLaren has stormed the rankings and dominated the track. They have casually taken over the constructors and their drivers are putting pressure where there hasn’t been in the past two years. On Verstappen.
While Max Verstappen is under threat from Lando Norris for the Drivers’ Championship this season, his true battle lies elsewhere.
Oscar Piastri vs. Max Verstappen: The real battle
The current gap between Verstappen and Norris, with just 6 race weekends to go, is only 52 points. If Verstappen places second in every race (sprint and feature), he will still win the World Drivers’ Championship (WDC). Even if Norris places first in every race (sprints included) AND snags the fastest lap, he would lose by one point. The final count would be Verstappen with 460 and Norris with 459.
After the Singapore GP, Lando Norris has reduced the gap to Max Verstappen by 7 points. With 6 more race weekends to go, its anyone’s Championship.
Let’s have a look at the Drivers’ Championship contenders as we head to Austin#F1 #SingaporeGP pic.twitter.com/gy5nUMpCVk
— Fastest Pitstop (@FastestPitStop) October 9, 2024
McLaren already has the lead in the Constructors’ Championship and will stop at nothing to get the WDC lead. To beat Verstappen, McLaren needs to ensure he continuously places lower than second. That’s where Piastri comes in.
Already on the heels of Charles Leclerc, Piastri is only 8 points away from third place. With the MCL38 being one of the fastest (if not THE fastest) cars currently on the track, McLaren will be doing everything possible to get Norris into first and Piastri into second.
Max Verstappen could face more grid penalties
This season, Max Verstappen has only finished outside of the top 5 three times. Once was a DNF and the other two were 6th place. However, he feels as if the championship is slipping away. Verstappen can not afford to place much (if any) lower than 2nd. It has also been rumoured that Verstappen will be taking a grid penalty in the near races.
The grid penalty would be for a new engine. Former Dutch Formula 1 driver Christijan Albers mentioned that the United States Grand Prix would not be the place to take it. Instead, he said he “would get it in Brazil” because it’s “better with that long straight, and that’s better with the DRS”.
IT’S RACEWEEK!!
F1 travels to Austin Texas with only 6 races to go!
It’s a sprint weekend as well so there’ll be plenty of action this week!#F1 #AustinGP pic.twitter.com/0Lmiy4OI16
— Fastest Pitstop (@FastestPitStop) October 14, 2024
With McLaren having the pace, Red Bull has to fix their issues quickly. Which, Norris believes they will do quickly. Norris said, “I expect [Red Bull] to win a few races, to be fixing their problems and come back strong again” (Racing365).
If Red Bull falters again in these next 6 race weekends, Verstappen could lose his fourth title. The winner of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix? Oscar Piastri.
So happy we finally have a title battle on our hands!!