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Can Verstappen still win 2025 F1 title?

2025-11-25 09:07
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Can Verstappen still win 2025 F1 title?

Our Ask Me Anything team explore whether Max Verstappen is in the 2025 world championship fight.

Can Verstappen still win 2025 F1 title?Story byAMA banner[BBC]Tasnim Chowdhury - BBC Sport journalistTue, November 25, 2025 at 9:07 AM UTC·3 min read

Max Verstappen has been closing the gap in the World Championship fight, but with two races and one sprint left in calendar, can he win it?

The four-time world champion is currently 24 points behind leader Lando Norris and level on points with Oscar Piastri.

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It is still mathematically possible for Verstappen to win the championship, with a total of 58 race and sprint winner points up for grabs.

Verstappen has closed the gap to 24 points in his championship comeback, while McLaren have faced multiple issues.

"We just need to try and deliver these weekends until the end. We will try whatever we can. It's exciting and I'm very excited until the end," he said after winning in Texas.

"The chance is there," he added.

Verstappen has won six races so far this campaign, with victories coming in Japan, two in Italy, Azerbaijan and two in the US. He also won the Belgian and US sprint race.

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"Max is in the contention for the drivers' championship, " admitted McLaren team principal Andrea Stella after Baku. "We knew it and we got confirmation today."

Red Bull will also want to improve their constructor standing points, which currently total 391, leaving them sitting in third place. They would need to outperform Mercedes (431) to move into second.

Max Verstappen celebrates his fourth championship victory in Vegas with his teamMax Verstappen has won four consecutive championships from 2021 to 2024 [Getty Images]

When has a driver won from a late title charge?

There has been a handful of seasons where a driver has made a comeback to win the championship with less than 10 races left in a season.

Sebastian Vettel has done it twice. In 2010 he reduced a 31-point deficit with five races to go to pip Fernando Alonso and win his first championship.

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Then in 2012 Vettel overcame a 39-point deficit with eight races remaining to best Alonso. The German took the lead from Alonso in four races and won the championship despite not winning the final three races of the season.

In the old points format, Kimi Raikkonen was behind by 17 points with two races remaining in the 2007 season. He beat McLaren duo Alonso and Lewis Hamilton to win the championship by just a single point.

This article is the latest from BBC Sport's Ask Me Anything team.

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