How Norris, Verstappen and Piastri can win F1 title in Abu Dhabi
The F1 championship permutations heading into the Abu Dhabi showdown…
A strategic Qatar Grand Prix has blown the battle for the 2025 world championship wide open, setting up a three-way title showdown.
Max Verstappen’s unexpected seventh victory of the season means that the Red Bull driver, as well as McLaren pair Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, could claim the title in next weekend’s finale in Abu Dhabi.
Norris heads into the final round leading the standings with 408 points, 12 clear of Verstappen, while Norris’s McLaren teammate Piastri is 16 points behind.
With 25 points up for grabs in Abu Dhabi, what does each driver need to do to walk away as the F1 world champion?
How Norris can win the title
Despite a disappointing fourth place finish in Qatar, Norris remains in the strongest position to win the title and his maiden world championship.
Simply put, Norris will become Briton’s 11th world champion with any position on the podium, regardless of where his rivals finish.
If Norris was fourth, he would clinch the championship as long as Verstappen didn’t win the race. He would also secure the drivers’ crown as long as he finishes within 12 points of Verstappen and within 16 of Piastri.
In the event of a tie, Norris would be crowned champion as he cannot be caught in any scenario.
With the top three remarkably all achieving seven victories this season, the championship would be determined by the most second place finishes. Norris has eight compared to Verstappen’s five and Piastri’s four, and therefore would come out on top.
How Verstappen can win the title
The simplest way for Verstappen to take the title would be for him to win in Abu Dhabi with Norris finishing fourth or lower.
Regardless of whether he wins, Verstappen must outscore Norris by at least 13 points, while not losing five or more points to Piastri in the process, to become a five-time world champion.
2025 is the first time since 2010 that more than two drivers have gone into the final race of a season with a shot of becoming world champion.
Coincidently, Sebastian Vettel in 2010 was the last example of a time when the championship leader going into the finale did not win the championship.
Vettel was third heading to Abu Dhabi but overturned a 15-point deficit to seal his first of four consecutive world titles.
Verstappen will be looking at Vettel’s achievement as inspiration as he looks to complete the greatest title comeback in F1 history.
How Piastri can win the title
Piastri will arrive in Abu Dhabi bruised after McLaren threw away a sure-fire victory in Qatar.
The Australian needs to finish in the top two to have any chance of winning the F1 world championship for the first time in his career.
Even with a win, Piastri would need teammate Norris to be sixth or lower. Second place for Piastri would require Norris to be finish 10th or lower and Verstappen to finish no higher than fourth.
The latter scenario would require someone outside of the championship contenders to win, such as a Mercedes or Ferrari driver.
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