How Max Verstappen can still win the F1 world title as breathtaking scenario emerges

Last year Max Verstappen set up a thrilling climax to the F1 World Championship, hunting down the McLarens of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, only losing by two points.

Fast-forward to 2026 and a similar scenario is on the horizon: the Red Bull team has hit form and Verstappen is as hungry as ever for wins, but this time his points margin to Kimi Antonelli is even greater.

The Dutchman is never one to shy from a challenge though. As we head into this weekend’s United States GP in Austin, Texas, here’s how Verstappen can fight back to set up another grandstand finish.

How far behind Kimi Antonelli in the F1 2026 title battle?

The twists and turns of the 2026 F1 title fight has hit a fascinating crossroads.

After Kimi Antonelli’s domination of the season’s first half, followed by the re-emergence of Lando Norris and McLaren, now Max Verstappen has stepped back onto centre stage.

Improvements to both the Red Bull’s aerodynamics and Ford power unit have put the four-time champion back at the sharp end, winning the last two races in dominant fashion.

Could Verstappen do the almost unthinkable, and catch Mercedes ace Antonelli?

It’s a tall order. The Dutchman lies 119 points off Antonelli with six races left to run. In 2025 he was 104 points off then-leader Piastri, but that was with nine races to go.

George Russell and Lewis Hamilton are actually ahead of Verstappen, 102 and 111 points behind Antonelli respectively, while Norris and Oscar Piastri are still technically in contention too, but it’s the Red Bull star who has the momentum.

Read more: How Kimi Antonelli can become F1 world champion at the US GP

What Max Verstappen needs to do to catch Kimi Antonelli

Verstappen crushed the opposition at the last two races in Singapore and Bahrain (held in Malaysia), but Antonelli was right there with him, finishing second and third in those respectively (as well as fourth in the Singapore Sprint, which Verstappen also won).

Across those three races, the Red Bull pulled back 28 points on Antonelli, an average of nine per start.

But, he needs to do a lot better than that to overhaul the Italian for this year’s title. Verstappen must score at least 20 more points than the Mercedes driver at each of the remaining six races.

With 25 points on offer for a win and 20 for second place, that’s a huge ask. Essentially, that means winning every single race while Antonelli comes home eighth or worse, the Italian having to score a maximum of 31 points from here to the end of the season.

However, if Antonelli wins the US GP this weekend, it’s all over for Verstappen.

The Dutchman nearly made the unthinkable happen last year. Can he do it in 2026?

Read more: The biggest revelations from Christian Horner's new book including stunning sack decision

What the other F1 contenders need to overhaul Kimi Antonelli in 2026

As mentioned above, George Russell and Lewis Hamilton are above Verstappen in the championship fight, but their chances aren’t much better.

Russell needs to outscore Antonelli by an average of 17.2 points across the next race, while Hamilton needs 18.7.

Behind Verstappen, Charles Leclerc requires a 21-point average over the Mercedes prodigy, and Lando Norris 23.3 points.

Oscar Piastri has now fallen out of the running.