Max Verstappen will continue his comeback bid to win a fifth Formula 1 World Drivers Championship as the drivers head to the Las Vegas Grand Prix on Saturday night.
After trailing leader Lando Norris and second-place driver Oscar Piastri by over 100 points, Verstappen has closed down the gap to 25 points over the past couple of races.
Verstappen had taken a big hit, being knocked out of qualifying at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix. But he ended up making an unexpected comeback, going from the pitlane to third place at that race, behind Kimi Antonelli in second and Norris in first.
With Norris sitting at 390 points after consistently making the podium throughout the season, and with similar results for Piastri, the McLaren driving team has been dominant. McLaren’s car development this year has definitely been a factor in the team’s success.
While the Redbull team, which features Verstappen, does not have a bad car this year, the RB21 just can be described as a work in progress.
The car isn’t the only factor in success, though. After having a rockier start than in other seasons, Verstappen has been relentlessly aggressive these past couple races. He has seven podiums in a row and 12 podiums total, with most in the second half of the season. Three out of his five wins this year have come in the past 10 races.
For Verstappen to win another championship, he will not only have to give some of the best racing he has to offer, but he also needs McLaren to have a rough time in the Vegas Grand Prix this weekend. Norris took the fastest lap in free practice two and Verstappen was a whole half-second behind him, which does not look too promising. But anything can happen on race day.
This race in Vegas can decide if Verstappen is in the running for the championship this year. Piastri has fallen back after finishing fifth in Sao Paulo, but this does not mean that he is out of the picture yet. The main factor may well be Norris’s performance. Verstappen needs to bring a lot of effort to do well in qualifying and get a good start. If Verstappen wins this weekend, he can overtake Piastri.
Piastri had a bad practice Thursday night, finishing with a lap time a second behind Norris. This puts him in a tough spot for qualifying, and this fuels the competition between Verstappen and Norris even more. If Verstappen wins this championship, he will solidify himself as one of the greatest Formula 1 drivers of all time.
