How Max Verstappen can win Championship after US Grand Prix win; Standings, points needed
With McLaren’s constructor’s title already secured after a dominant season, the F1 championship fight is now intensifying nicely with a three-way battle for the World Championship. What initially seemed like a duel between McLaren teammates Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris is now being strongly contested the defending World Champion, Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen.
After a commanding victory at the U.S. Grand Prix, where he started from pole and led every lap, Verstappen has slashed the gap to leader Piastri to just 40 points, having been 104 points behind at the end of August. Norris finished second in Austin, reducing Piastri’s lead to just 14 points, with five rounds and two sprints remaining.
Verstappen also won the Saturday sprint from pole position at the Circuit of the Americas, while the McLarens collided and retired, resulting in a weekend of maximum points for the four-time world champion.
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Verstappen has clearly found his rhythm, winning three of the last five races and finishing second in the other two.
How can Verstappen defend his title?
Verstappen can defend his title if he consently outperforms the two McLaren drivers over the final five races. He is 40 points behind leader Piastri, but with 141 points still available from the remaining five races (25 points each) and two sprints (8 points each), the gap is easily closable. If Verstappen continues his current winning form while Piastri and Norris take points from each other battling for podium spots, he should be in a firm position to overtake them both to claim the title. Essentially, he needs to keep winning and hope the McLarens don’t finish 1-2 ahead of him too often.
F1 2025 Driver’s Championship Leaderboard
Pos.
Driver
Nationality
Team
Pts.
1
Oscar Piastri
AUS
McLaren
346
2
Lando Norris
GBR
McLaren
332
3
Max Verstappen
NED
Red Bull Racing
306
4
George Russell
GBR
Mercedes
252
5
Charles Leclerc
MON
Ferrari
192
6
Lewis Hamilton
GBR
Ferrari
142
7
Kimi Antonelli
ITA
Mercedes
89
8
Alexander Albon
THA
Williams
73
9
Nico Hulkenberg
GER
Kick Sauber
41
10
Isack Hadjar
FRA
Racing Bulls
39
11
Carlos Sainz
ESP
Williams
38
12
Fernando Alonso
ESP
Aston Martin
37
13
Lance Stroll
CAN
Aston Martin
32
14
Liam Lawson
NZL
Racing Bulls
30
15
Esteban Ocon
FRA
Haas F1 Team
28
16
Yuki Tsunoda
JPN
Red Bull Racing
28
17
Pierre Gasly
FRA
Alpine
20
18
Oliver Bearman
GBR
Haas F1 Team
20
19
Gabriel Bortoleto
BRA
Kick Sauber
18
20
Franco Colapinto
ARG
Alpine
0
21
Jack Doohan
AUS
Alpine
0
F1 2025 Constructor’s Championship Leaderboard
Pos.
Team
Pts.
1
McLaren
678
2
Mercedes
341
3
Ferrari
334
4
Red Bull Racing
331
5
Williams
111
6
Racing Bulls
72
7
Aston Martin
69
8
Kick Sauber
59
9
Haas F1 Team
48
10
Alpine
20
F1 2025 Race Winners
Australian Grand Prix – Lando Norris (McLaren) – 16 Mar 2025
Chinese Grand Prix – Oscar Piastri (McLaren) – 23 Mar 2025
Japanese Grand Prix – Max Verstappen (Red Bull Racing) – 06 Apr 2025
Bahrain Grand Prix – Oscar Piastri (McLaren) – 13 Apr 2025
Saudi Arabian Grand Prix – Oscar Piastri (McLaren) – 20 Apr 2025
Miami Grand Prix – Oscar Piastri (McLaren) – 04 May 2025
Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix – Max Verstappen (Red Bull Racing) – 18 May 2025
Monaco Grand Prix – Lando Norris (McLaren) – 25 May 2025
Spanish Grand Prix – Oscar Piastri (McLaren) – 01 Jun 2025
Canadian Grand Prix – George Russell (Mercedes) – 15 Jun 2025
Austrian Grand Prix – Lando Norris (McLaren) – 29 Jun 2025
British Grand Prix – Lando Norris (McLaren) – 06 Jul 2025
Belgian Grand Prix – Oscar Piastri (McLaren) – 27 Jul 2025
Hungarian Grand Prix – Lando Norris (McLaren) – 03 Aug 2025
Dutch Grand Prix – Oscar Piastri (McLaren) – 31 Aug 2025
Italian Grand Prix – Max Verstappen (Red Bull Racing) – 07 Sep 2025
Azerbaijan Grand Prix – Max Verstappen (Red Bull Racing) – 21 Sep 2025
Singapore Grand Prix – George Russell (Mercedes) – 05 Oct 2025
United States Grand Prix – Max Verstappen (Red Bull Racing) – 19 Oct 2025
