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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 respectful — calls Max Verstappen ‘serious danger’ in title fight
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.

THE 2026 ULTIMATUM: WHY NEXT SEASON IS "MAKE OR BREAK" FOR LEWIS HAMILTON

After a winless 2025 debut, Lewis Hamilton faces a pivotal year. See why Steiner believes the 7x champ is nearing the F1 exit.

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Hamilton’s exit clock is ticking

Guenther Steiner, who used to run the Haas team, thinks Lewis Hamilton might quit Formula 1 if Ferrari can't get to the top of the Driver's Championship by 2026—he thinks that season will be super important for the racing star.

Hamilton had a tough first year with Ferrari, ending up sixth in the F1 rankings with 156 points.

That was 86 points behind his teammate, Charles Leclerc, and he didn't even get on the podium once, which is a first for him in a full season.

He often said he was bummed out about how his Ferrari debut was going.

Back in November, after the Las Vegas Grand Prix, he told Sky Sports, I feel awful. This has been the worst season ever, and it just keeps getting worse no matter how hard I try. I'm trying everything I can, both in and out of the car.

Hamilton looked pretty sad a lot during the season because he couldn't really fight for race wins.

Steiner told Sports Krone, I think if Ferrari has a good car next season, Hamilton might be able to turn things around. If they are more competitive, Lewis might find his drive again. But if things stay the same, next season will probably be his last in Formula 1. He's not going to go through that again. The situation is tough for him, and you could see that in every interview. So, the next season will be key for him.

What's Hamilton saying about quitting?

When the media asks Hamilton about his F1 future, he doesn't want to talk about retiring.

At the end of the season, when someone asked him what he would say to those who think he might retire soon, the 40-year-old said, I wouldn't say anything to them. None of them have done what I've done, so they don't know anything more than I do.

Last summer, after some rumors that he might leave early, Hamilton said he's staying at Ferrari until his contract is up.

He said, For those writing stories about me thinking about not racing, I've just started here with Ferrari. I've been here for a few years, and I'm in it for the long run, so there's no question about what I'm focused on achieving with this team. There are zero doubts, so please stop making stuff up.

In 2026, everyone will still be wondering about Hamilton's future in F1, mainly if Ferrari keeps struggling with the new rules. And if Steiner is right, another year of not competing for a championship could be the end for him.

MAX VERSTAPPEN NAMED PEER-VOTED DRIVER OF THE YEAR FOR FIFTH CONSECUTIVE SEASON

Max Verstappen wins his 5th straight F1 peer award, beating champion Lando Norris. Lewis Hamilton drops out of the top 10 for the first time.

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Verstappen Wins Fifth Straight Peer Award

Max Verstappen copped his fifth straight driver-of-the-year award in Formula 1's secret peer vote, even though he almost grabbed a fifth title in 2025 but didn't quite make it.

The drivers all voted in secret, except for four guys. The Red Bull driver beat out Lando Norris, who just won the world championship, for the number one spot.

The voting worked like the normal F1 points system. Drivers ranked their top 10 rivals. Verstappen got 25 points from six votes to win.

Norris, who won his first championship after a crazy season, came in second in the driver rankings for the second year running.

The McLaren driver won the title after fighting off pressure from Verstappen and his teammate, Oscar Piastri, all season long.

George Russell took third, moving up one spot from last year. The Mercedes driver had a killer season with two wins and seven more podiums.

Piastri was fourth, up one spot, even though his championship hopes fizzled out near the end. The Aussie was leading by 34 points at one point before his performance dropped off.

Charles Leclerc finished fifth, down two spots, even though he got everything he could out of Ferrari's SF-25. The Monegasque driver had seven podiums during a tough season that saw Ferrari finish fourth.

Carlos Sainz held onto sixth after a great comeback at Williams. After a rough start, the Spaniard grabbed two podiums in a strong second half of the season.

Fernando Alonso jumped two spots to seventh, and the two-time world champion had some crazy drives in Aston Martin's AMR25.

Alex Albon took eighth after his best season with Williams, while rookies Oliver Bearman and Isack Hadjar rounded out the top 10, getting props for their awesome first seasons.

Pierre Gasly almost made the list, even with 10 Q3 appearances in Alpine's tricky A525.

Lewis Hamilton, who's won seven world championships, didn't show up in the rankings, which is a first since they started doing this poll. It shows how rough his first season at Ferrari was.

The four drivers who skipped the vote were Hamilton, Nico Hulkenberg, Lance Stroll, and Yuki Tsunoda.

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