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FORMULA 1
AP PHOTO/ANDRE PENNER
After the “roulette” of the Brazilian GP, Max Verstappen can now realistically “shake the bank” in Las Vegas by securing this year’s world championship at the next Formula 1 race, in the American “city of sin” on November 24.
Everything looked set to take a new turn in this year’s Formula 1 title battle between Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen and McLaren’s Lando Norris after the episodic Brazilian GP qualifying tests yesterday (3/11) morning in a rainy Interlago .
With the pair 44 points adrift after Saturday’s Sprint, Norris had just won pole position while Verstappen, in a moment of bad luck, missed out on a top-10 start and was left in 12th – resulting in the race from 17th place, also due to the engine change penalty on Friday.
But in one of his greatest performances of this year’s 21st GP, in the Brazilian rain, Verstappen won (and set the fastest lap, which gives an extra point) and Norris finished 6th, giving the Dutchman the lead in the championship to increase to 62 points – and with 3 GPs and 1 Sprint left for the end of the season.
“I just want clean fights until the end, I’m not thinking about the title yet”Verstappen said at the end of the Interlago race, but now it is absolutely realistic that he will also mathematically secure his fourth consecutive championship at the next GP, 22nd out of 24 this year, in Las Vegas, USA at dawn (Greece time) on Sunday, November 24.
Specifically, after Las Vegas there will be two races left with 60 points available if someone takes both wins, sets both fastest laps and also wins the Qatar Sprint.
That means Verstappen has the luxury in Las Vegas of taking two points less than Norris to join the exclusive club of four F1 champions.
Let’s see, below, all the scenarios that can also give mathematics in the next race – at the Las Vegas GP, November 21-24 – this year’s championship to the Dutchman.
Verstappen will be crowned champion in Las Vegas if:
- Finish ahead of Norris
- Norris finished second and Verstappen third with the fastest lap
- Norris is third and Verstappen fourth with the fastest lap
- Norris finished fourth and Verstappen fifth
- Norris finished fifth and Verstappen sixth
- Norris finished sixth and Verstappen seventh
- Norris finished seventh and Verstappen eighth
- Norris finished eighth and Verstappen ninth
- Norris finished ninth, tenth or not rated.
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