Max Verstappen still has hope of winning the 2025 Drivers' Championship - even if Lando Norris wins the Las Vegas Grand Prix.
Norris won the Brazilian Grand Prix on Sunday to move 24 points clear of McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri at the top of the Drivers' Championship.
Verstappen, meanwhile, produced a stunning drive to finish in third place, having started from the pit lane and suffered an early-race puncture which forced him to pit under the virtual safety car.
The Dutchman is now 49 points behind Norris with just three races to go, meaning his destiny is now out of his own hands as he looks to claim his fifth consecutive Drivers' Championship.
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Speaking after qualifying, Verstappen said that fans could 'forget about' his title chances, and told Sky Sports F1 post-race in Brazil: "We will still try everything we can until the end of the season to score some highlights and try to win races - that's what we are here for."
There have been examples in the past of drivers overhauling significant margins to win the F1 world title.
In 2007, Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen was 17 points behind McLaren's Lewis Hamilton with two races to go, at a time when 10 points were on offer for a win.
But Hamilton retired from the Chinese Grand Prix and could only finish seventh in Brazil due to mechanical problems, with Raikkonen winning both races to secure the title.
And even if Norris takes the chequered flag in Las Vegas this weekend for his eighth win of the season, Verstappen could still pull off the unthinkable.
It would require the Dutchman to finish in second place in Vegas, putting him 56 points behind Norris with two race weekends to go.
But there is a sprint race being held at the subsequent Qatar Grand Prix, which Verstappen would need to win.
He would then also need to secure victory in the Grand Prix itself, and at the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
In that scenario, Norris would only be able to pick up one point in any of the final two weekends for Verstappen to win the title outright.
Two points for Norris would leave him tied with Verstappen, but while both drivers would have eight wins each, Norris would win the title on countback due to having more second-placed finishes.
How else can Verstappen win the Drivers' Championship?
There are some perhaps more realistic scenarios that would see Verstappen claim the Drivers' Championship for the fifth year in a row.
As per Twitter account F1GuyDan, Verstappen would again need to win all of the remaining races and the Qatar sprint.
Norris would then need to score 34 points or fewer across the three weekends, while McLaren team-mate Piastri would need to score 58 points or less.
With a maximum of 83 points available, and with Verstappen taking all of them for the four wins, Norris or Piastri could amass a maximum of 61 points in any case - effectively meaning that, if the Dutchman does pull off the incredible feat, Piastri's championship chances would likely be all but over.
It is Norris' advantage, though, that puts him in the driving seat with three weekends to go as he looks to seal his first Drivers' Championship.
Topics: Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing, Lando Norris, McLaren, Oscar Piastri, Formula 1
Ryan Smart