LANDO NORRIS RESPECTFUL — CALLS MAX VERSTAPPEN ‘SERIOUS DANGER’ IN TITLE FIGHT
Lando Norris extends his F1 title lead with a Brazil GP win but insists Max Verstappen remains a major threat. Despite a 49-point deficit, Verstappen fought from the pit lane to podium, keeping the championship battle alive.
Lando Norris (right) and Max Verstappen - Photo Credit: Reuters
Despite making a significant move to remove the Dutchman from his position as world champion, Lando Norris thinks Max Verstappen will battle him to the end.
After a commanding victory at Sunday's Sao Paulo Grand Prix, Norris increased his lead over McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri to 24 points at the top of the standings.
Verstappen fought back from a pit-lane start to secure a superb third in Interlagos, and reduce the title damage to Norris to 10 points.
But with only 83 points left over the final three rounds, he currently lags the British driver by 49 points.
"I am convinced Max is going to be a threat in terms of races, and you never know with the championship," Norris maintained. Therefore, attempting to guess and come up with these things is futile.
If he had begun further up, he would have won because of how fast he was. However, that is racing. In the world we live in, mistakes are common, and not everyone puts things together.
Max is a threat and always will be. He’s always there, he’s constantly battling, and I’m confident he’ll fight till the end. I am excited about it.
After finishing 104 points down at the Dutch Grand Prix on the last day of August, Verstappen looked to be out of the running for the championship.
But the Red Bull driver, who is vying for five consecutive world titles, pulled himself back into the race with many strong runs in a car that has not been as good as Norris' McLaren for the majority of the season.
However, he instantly wrote off his prospects of winning the title after suffering a shocking Q1 exit in qualifying in Sao Paulo. Verstappen also thinks he will not be able to catch Norris once the gruelling 24-round season comes to a close, despite having surged from last to third place.
"We did not lose the title here," Verstappen stated. From the season's opening race to Zandvoort (on August 31), we lost the championship.
"There were many weekends when we just were not fast enough. Naturally, there is thus a large opening in front. We experienced times when we were able to recover some points, but not enough, and that is the nature of the season.
Before the season finale in Abu Dhabi, a week later and the final rubbers in Qatar on November 30, Norris will try to further increase his lead on the Las Vegas Strip on November 22.
WEEKEND OF DREAMS — LANDO NORRIS NAILS BRAZIL GP FOR TITLE REVIVAL
Lando Norris wins the Brazilian GP, taking a giant step toward the F1 world title. A penalty for Oscar Piastri and a stunning recovery drive from Max Verstappen shake up the championship battle with just three races left.
Lando Norris now leads the world championship by 24 points - Photo Credit: Getty Images
Oscar Piastri finished only fifth after being given a 10-second penalty, while Lando Norris won the Brazilian Grand Prix, bringing him one step closer to becoming the world champion.
Max Verstappen finished third in Interlagos after a spectacular drive by the Red Bull driver, who had started last but one. Norris was 10.3 seconds ahead of runner-up Kimi Antonelli.
With just 83 points remaining in the final three rounds, Verstappen is 49 points behind Norris, who currently leads Piastri by 24 points in the F1 championship standings.
Lewis Hamilton retired with injuries he incurred after colliding with the back of Franco Colapinto on lap one, capping a wild weekend for the seven-time world champion. George Russell fought off Piastri to finish in fourth place.
When Norris collapsed in Zandvoort on the last day of August, his dreams of winning the title seemed to be dashed.
He was 34 points behind Piastri at that moment, but a 58-point surge in his favour over the next six rounds has put him squarely in control, with just races left in Abu Dhabi, Qatar, and Las Vegas.
In fact, Norris can now afford to lose to Piastri in the season's last sprint round in Qatar and the final three races and still win the championship.
After winning the sprint race from pole position and sweeping to victory, once more from first on the grid, in Sunday's main event, Norris, who was unbeatable at the last round in Mexico City, has produced another impressive weekend in Sao Paulo.
Although Norris's championship mindset has frequently been questioned, he launched well at the start to easily hold off Antonelli's attention going into the opening bend on Saturday after delivering under pressure to take pole position. He then did so again at the rolling start on lap six after Gabriel Bortleto crashed out.
When Piastri, who started fourth, brushed wheels with Antonelli at the safety-car restart, it gave the British driver a further push in Norris's rearview mirror. Charles Leclerc suffered suspension damage after Antonelli collided with him.
Piastri, who was now in second place, objected, "He left me with no space." He was given a 10-second penalty, which he paid at his pit stop, and when he came out, he was in eighth place. His chances of winning the title were in jeopardy since he could only move up three spots.
Verstappen stated that "you can forget" about the title after qualifying 16th. In a last-ditch effort to keep Verstappen in the battle for the championship, his car was completely refurbished overnight, including a new engine.
This resulted in a pit-lane start, and in true Verstappen fashion, he smashed his way through the field despite needing to stop at the end of the eighth lap due to a suspected puncture.
He temporarily took the lead in the race on lap 51. After he stopped for the second time on lap 34, surely he could not achieve the unthinkable and finish on his medium tyres? Verstappen's pit stop for a fresh pair of softs four laps later provided the solution. With the two Silver Arrows in front of him, he was now in fourth place, one spot ahead of Piastri.
With eight laps remaining, Verstappen passed Russell, and Antonelli was just 2.5 seconds ahead. But the teenager from Italy refused to let Verstappen finish second.
TOO MANY POINTS: MAX VERSTAPPEN FACES UPHILL BATTLE FOR CHAMPIONSHIP SURVIVAL
After a shocking Brazil GP, Max Verstappen concedes his F1 title hopes are slim. Despite a stunning pit-lane to podium drive, losing 49 points to rival Lando Norris leaves a deficit he calls too great to overcome with only 3 races left.
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing, Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes - Photo by: Getty Images
After dropping 49 points from the lead in the Brazilian Grand Prix, Max Verstappen claims his chances of winning the championship are now slim.
Despite recovering from a pit lane start to finish third, the Red Bull driver fell behind leader Lando Norris by an additional ten points.
Verstappen stated that "it is too many points to truly have a proper chance" because there are only 83 points available during the next three grand prix weekends.
Verstappen has not increased his lead in the championship since the August Dutch Grand Prix until this past weekend. However, he claimed that the ground lost early in the season has been too great to make up.
He told the official Formula 1 station, "If you look at the entire season, we gave away too many points from the beginning 'til the middle of the season."
"I believe that right now, we should just focus on these highlights, have successful racing weekends, and see what we can accomplish." At least the race was really promising, but I suppose there are still a lot of things we want to analyse from the entire weekend.
Verstappen's elimination from qualifying in Saturday's opening round was shocking. However, once Red Bull modified his suspension setup and installed a new power unit, his car came to life during the Grand Prix.
After the Safety Car, he commented, "I had a good first lap and already overtook some guys." However, on the first lap, we may have picked up that puncture from some debris that shot off in front of me.
"After that, I believe we played at a good tempo and made the appropriate calls using the plan. I certainly did not anticipate getting into the vehicle this morning and ending up on the podium from the pit lane.