Las Vegas has given us back a new favorite for the title battle. Despite Norris holding a 24-point lead over teammate Piastri and his Red Bull challenger, thanks to McLaren's double disqualification, Verstappen suddenly finds himself the favourite for the world title.
Verstappen has become the favorite, Norris must give his all in Qatar
The reasons are soon stated. In hand-to-hand combat, the Dutchman certainly has something more than the papaya pair. Norris's vain attempt to fight at the start of the Las Vegas GP also demonstrated this. Lando tried, unsuccessfully, to close the door on Max, effectively falling into his own trap.
If we then analyze the Dutchman's performance, he managed to win easily in Nevada, also being able to count on the contribution of the new power unit, mounted in Brazil. Considering this important technical factor and the fact that Red Bull has also grown significantly in terms of overall package in the races following the summer break, we would therefore not be surprised to see Max take home victory in both the last Sprint in Qatar and the two subsequent GPs.
Norris could potentially win the title even if he always finished second. Which, if that were to happen, would allow him to beat Verstappen by just 9 points. A miserable delta, which could be lost for any reason. We have often seen Lando Norris suffer from the high pressure load, and he is not the only driver, besides Max, hungry for victory. With Ferrari out of the way, both Piastri and the drivers driving the two Mercedes, Russell and Antonelli, have proven competitive lately and could play tricks on Lando Norris.
The Briton must try to close the world speech in Qatar. If he can beat Max in Doha, the title would be his with a game to spare, but if Verstappen stays in the game in Abu Dhabi too... It would get really tough for Lando. The double disqualification could represent a further huge burden for McLaren. A team that will now have to commit to the final two events, being careful not to encounter another mistake like the one made in Las Vegas.
Max Verstappen thus suddenly finds himself the favorite. Unless McLaren pulls the rabbit out of its hat, it will be difficult to prevent the four-time world champion from monopolising the final two weekends of the season. Norris, it's going to have to be perfect.
Photo: Red Bull
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