- F1
Verstappen, chasing a fifth consecutive championship, now only trails Lando Norris by 24 points
Kieran JacksonFormula 1 CorrespondentTuesday 25 November 2025 11:16 GMTComments
CloseLando Norris reveals mentality ahead of final three F1 races of 2025 season
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Jacques Villeneuve has backed Max Verstappen to win this year’s F1 world championship after the dramatic events following the Las Vegas Grand Prix on Saturday night.
Championship leader Lando Norris had one hand on the trophy after extending his lead to 30 points over Oscar Piastri with a second-place finish in Vegas, with race winner Verstappen 42 points off the Briton.
Yet the shock double disqualification of both McLaren cars for excessive skid plank wear has thrust Verstappen back into the fight. With two rounds to go and 58 points on the table, Verstappen is now level on points with Piastri – a driver he trailed by 104 points at the start of September – and 24 behind Norris.
Norris can still potentially win the championship this Sunday at the penultimate race in Qatar, but 1997 F1 world champion Villeneuve believes Red Bull can now put pressure on McLaren, given they still have two drivers still in the fight.
“I would still put my money on Max Verstappen to be this season’s champion,” Villeneuve said of the Dutchman, chasing his fifth consecutive title. “But just by a very small margin, because of his experience, because of the fact that McLaren has two drivers now fighting for the championship and they can't yet use one to help the other.
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Why were Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri disqualified from the Las Vegas Grand Prix?
“When you have to be on the defensive, you make the wrong call. Can they make a super-aggressive call on [Lando] Norris that would also damage [Oscar] Piastri? They can’t. You will second-guess yourself and make the wrong strategy because of that to try and stay balanced.
“And Red Bull can play on that. They can put the pressure on that. So in that aspect they have the advantage. They just have the points disadvantage. The McLaren is still a faster car. Norris really has his A game out right now. So does Verstappen. It will be fun to watch.
“Normally, when you look at the sprint race, okay, it's fun. It's not a lot of points. Let's not take too many risks. Oh, there's no choice now with the three drivers fighting for the championship. So, Qatar could be a super exciting race. It’s also a hot race; it's a physical race.”
However, despite the double DSQs, Villeneuve was keen to emphasise that the title remains in Norris’s hands. In fact, the Brit can finish second at both grands prix in Qatar and Abu Dhabi and still win the championship.
open image in galleryLando Norris leads Max Verstappen by 24 points with two rounds left (Getty Images)
open image in galleryJacques Villeneuve has backed Verstappen to win the title (Getty Images)“Verstappen has always been there,” Villeneuve added, in association with CanadaCasino.ca. “The one bad race he did this year was Barcelona, where he lost a few points. That was the one-off weekend he had this year.
“[Lando] Norris is still super quick. He was quicker than Verstappen during the race, other than his mistake at the start. But once you put Verstappen in the lead like this, it's hard to get him. It was a track where we all expected Verstappen and Red Bull to be quick.
“It might be very different when we go to Qatar now. It’s a completely different track, a lot of corners. McLaren should be quick and on a different type of track that opens it up again. He has always had momentum.
“But [Lando] Norris can still win it if he finishes second every time. It’s in his hands.”
The penultimate round of the season is this weekend in Qatar, which also hosts the final sprint race of the year.
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