Max Verstappen is attempting to create history as he looks to overhaul a 104-point gap and win a fifth Drivers’ title.
Over the years, drivers have come from behind to seal the titles, but comparing modern F1 to earlier generations can be tricky given that the points awarded have changed over the years. While eight points were awarded for a win back in 1950, that same amount now goes to sixth place.
For that reason, we are focusing solely on the current points system, introduced in 2010, which awards 25 points for the winner, 18 for second, 15 for third, 12 for fourth, 10 for fifth, eight for sixth, six for seventh, four for eighth, two for ninth and one for 10th.
From 2019 to 2024, drivers could also score an extra point if they finished in the top 10 and recorded the quickest lap, but that was dropped for this season onwards.
To further complicate matters, since 2021, F1 has introduced Sprints, with varying points available over their brief lifespan.
The biggest gaps overcome in F1 title history since 2010
2017 – 25 points (Lewis Hamilton)
Our first entry on this list comes in 2017 when Hamilton, free of fighting with Nico Rosberg, instead faced a battle from the Ferrari of Sebastian Vettel.
Hamilton had a decent start to the year, finishing first in China and second in Australia and Bahrain, but a difficult stint after that allowed Vettel to take hold of the title race.
The gap was at its biggest following a seventh in Monaco, with Vettel 25 points ahead. But the tide turned from then on. A win in Canada and Silverstone was followed by five victories in six races as Hamilton regained control.
He eventually went on to win his fourth world title by 46 points.
2014 – 29 points (Lewis Hamilton)
Another Hamilton entry on this list comes in 2014 when he won his first of six world titles with Mercedes.
The year started off poorly with a retirement in Australia but he hit back with four consecutive victories. From Monaco, Hamilton and Rosberg traded the better results but a retirement in Canada gave the advantage to the German.
Rosberg then won in Austria with Hamilton in second to put the lead at 29 but that was the biggest it would get as Rosberg suffered a DNF at Silverstone while Hamilton won.
Five wins in a row gave Hamilton some breathing room and he won the title by 67 points.
2010 – 31 points (Sebastian Vettel)
Vettel’s first world title did not come easily with a fourth and a DNF in the first two races not suggesting he was a favourite for the crown.
That honour went to Fernando Alonso who started the year with a win and a fourth to give a 25-point advantage over Vettel, but the German hit back with a win in Malaysia where Alonso could only manage 13th.
That opened the door for McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton to have a run in what was a very competitive start to the year and, come the end of the fourth race in China, four drivers were all within 15 points of each other at the top.
The Turkish Grand Prix was when Hamilton began to kick into gear and by the end of the Belgian Grand Prix, he was 31 points ahead of Vettel.
But Hamilton fell away with back-to-back retirements in the next two races while Vettel put a run together of three wins in the final four Grands Prix to secure his first world championship, finishing first by four points over Alonso.
2012 – 44 points (Sebastian Vettel)
Vettel features again on this list, this time in 2012 when he was, at one stage, 44 points behind Alonso.
After the first seven rounds, they both had one win apiece while it was Hamilton that topped the table but two wins and a second place for Alonso put him in pole position.
Come the end of the German Grand Prix, Alonso boasted a 44-point lead over Vettel and a 22nd place finish for the Red Bull driver at Monza suggested his title charge was fading. He then proceeded to win four Grands Prix on the spin.
After the South Korean GP, he regained the championship lead and went on to win by three points.
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2022 – 46 points (Max Verstappen)
If Verstappen needs any encouragement for the task ahead, he need only look at 2022 when he came back from 46 points adrift to deny Charles Leclerc a maiden title.
The beginning of the ground effect era saw Ferrari start strongly with a one-two in the opening race and with Leclerc winning two out of the opening three, there was a real belief that this could finally be the year the Scuderia ended its drought.
That hope was only bolstered by Verstappen and Red Bull’s struggles. The team started the year with a double DNF, and a win for Verstappen in Saudi Arabia was followed by a retirement in Australia.
A 46-point deficit had Red Bull all but conceding the title to Ferrari but things changed in Imola with an upgrade to the RB18 suddenly propelling it to the front of the grid.
From then on, there was no looking back with Verstappen winning 14 of the final 18 races and claiming a second title.
2025 – 104 points (Max Verstappen)?
Verstappen already has some pretty impressive accomplishments on his CV but if he were to win the Championship this season, it will go down as one of his best ever.
The 104 points he trailed Piastri by ahead of the Italian Grand Prix is 2.5 times as big as the previous points gap, but that this is even a discussion is testament to how much Verstappen has kept himself in the fight.
When the RB22 was underwhelming, he still managed to finish within the top places on a constant basis which has given him a platform to build on now that the car is much improved.
No doubt it will take a lot of luck, but should Verstappen recorded a fifth title this year, it would mark the most impressive championship recover in F1 history.
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