Lando Norris can still win his maiden Formula One World Drivers' Championship this weekend in Qatar despite the shock disqualifications for himself and McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri in Las Vegas earlier this month.
To win the title, Norris must outscore his rivals, Max Verstappen and Piastri, by at least two points over the weekend. He currently leads the championship with 390 points, followed closely by Piastri on 366 points.
Norris is now just 24 points ahead of Verstappen, who dominated the Las Vegas race but is now facing a significant uphill battle to catch up. The McLaren driver's advantage over Verstappen is similar to how it was at the start of the weekend in Qatar.
The math for Norris is simple: if he outscores his title rivals by two points each on both Saturday and Sunday, he will become Britain's 11th F1 world champion. However, a poor weekend for Norris could quickly change the title picture, with Piastri or Verstappen potentially taking the championship lead.
The key to McLaren's strategy now is to ensure they do not repeat the same excessive skid block wear breach that led to their Las Vegas disqualifications. The team is investigating the reasons behind this error and will likely take a more cautious approach in Qatar to avoid any further penalties.
Norris faces a thrilling weekend ahead as he battles Verstappen, who has had race-winning pace at five of his last seven races. The Qatar Grand Prix Sprint on Saturday may give Norris an opportunity to increase his advantage over Piastri and Verstappen, but it is a high-risk strategy that could backfire if the car does not perform as expected.
Verstappen's title chances are still very much alive, and he will stop at nothing to catch up. The Dutchman has momentum on his side, having dominated the Las Vegas race, and may be able to produce what would surely be the greatest comeback in F1 history if he can string together a series of wins.
However, McLaren is unlikely to favor Norris over Piastri, given their commitment to playing it fair and square. The team has consistently stated that they will support both drivers' championship ambitions until mathematically out of the title hunt.
The real question on everyone's mind now is: can Norris maintain his advantage over Piastri and Verstappen for a second consecutive weekend?
To win the title, Norris must outscore his rivals, Max Verstappen and Piastri, by at least two points over the weekend. He currently leads the championship with 390 points, followed closely by Piastri on 366 points.
Norris is now just 24 points ahead of Verstappen, who dominated the Las Vegas race but is now facing a significant uphill battle to catch up. The McLaren driver's advantage over Verstappen is similar to how it was at the start of the weekend in Qatar.
The math for Norris is simple: if he outscores his title rivals by two points each on both Saturday and Sunday, he will become Britain's 11th F1 world champion. However, a poor weekend for Norris could quickly change the title picture, with Piastri or Verstappen potentially taking the championship lead.
The key to McLaren's strategy now is to ensure they do not repeat the same excessive skid block wear breach that led to their Las Vegas disqualifications. The team is investigating the reasons behind this error and will likely take a more cautious approach in Qatar to avoid any further penalties.
Norris faces a thrilling weekend ahead as he battles Verstappen, who has had race-winning pace at five of his last seven races. The Qatar Grand Prix Sprint on Saturday may give Norris an opportunity to increase his advantage over Piastri and Verstappen, but it is a high-risk strategy that could backfire if the car does not perform as expected.
Verstappen's title chances are still very much alive, and he will stop at nothing to catch up. The Dutchman has momentum on his side, having dominated the Las Vegas race, and may be able to produce what would surely be the greatest comeback in F1 history if he can string together a series of wins.
However, McLaren is unlikely to favor Norris over Piastri, given their commitment to playing it fair and square. The team has consistently stated that they will support both drivers' championship ambitions until mathematically out of the title hunt.
The real question on everyone's mind now is: can Norris maintain his advantage over Piastri and Verstappen for a second consecutive weekend?
norris is literally just 24 points ahead of verstappen and piastri could still catch up easy peasy... mclaren needs to keep their skid block wear under control or they're done for 
meanwhile, if verstappen can get his act together he might actually pull off the comeback of a lifetime 
It's like they're not even trying to make it hard for Norris anymore. And don't even get me started on how McLaren is going to let one of their drivers tank so many points and still support them for the championship... like, what is that strategy again? 
for this Qatar GP! Norris has got this 
, but it's gonna be super close 
. The math is in his favour, but Verstappen's got that killer instinct 
and he's not gonna give up easy 
. Norris' strategy is all about taking it one lap at a time 
. Can't wait for the Sprint on Sat, could be a game-changer 
️! 
Max Verstappen's win rate is 
50%. But Norris has got the points lead 
and it's all about who can maintain that advantage for two consecutive weekends 
. Piastri's in a tough spot, needs to start scoring big points ASAP 
. Verstappen's comeback story is one for the ages 
, but can he actually do it? 
?
.
. The Dutchman's got this fire in him, I'm not gonna lie 
. But seriously, if Norris can just stay focused and avoid any more mistakes, I think he's gonna be the one standing on top of that podium in Qatar 
.
. I mean, he's got 24 points ahead of Verstappen but that gap is like, what, 2-3% of the total points? It's not that big of a lead to be honest. And Piastri just needs to get on top of his game and suddenly Norris' advantage is gone 
.
those skid block wear breaches were a major bummer for mclaren, but they're taking steps to prevent it from happening again.
. I mean, he already has 390 points and now he's gotta outrun two guys who are just as hungry as he is? Please. He can't even keep his own team in check, what makes him think he's gonna take down Verstappen on both days? And don't even get me started on the Sprint Qualifier thing... it's like a recipe for disaster 
. But then again, what if he's got a meltdown on Saturday? Or what if McLaren screws up their pit strategy? Ugh, I don't know... my mind is all over the place 
. Don't get me wrong, he's in a great position with 390 points and all, but the math is pretty tight. If Max Verstappen starts racking up those points, Norris' lead could vanish faster than you can say "sprint" 
, but we need to see if Norris and McLaren can keep up the pace 
they disqualify their own driver and then expect him to still be the underdog...like, come on lando you've got 390 points ahead of piastri and verstappen, you're basically in it to win it 
and yet mclaren's gonna play it cautious? that's just gonna give max an even bigger chance of catching up 
meanwhile, piastri's still a wild card, I'm not sure if he can keep the pressure on Norris...and what about the qatar sprint on saturday? is lando really going to risk it all for a 2 point lead? 
. If Oscar can get back on track, it'll be a whole different story 