Oscar Piastri has fallen further away from championship contention after a dismal weekend in Brazil and his teammate has taken full advantage of the dip in performance.
Named Sportsperson of the Year on Sunday by Nine’s Wide World of Sports show, Piastri was on course to take the Formula 1 drivers’ championship and would have been the first Australian to do so since 1980.
Instead, since Italy, Piastri has not finished in the top three while Lando Norris has posted two victories and three podiums.
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As Norris stood on the top step of the podium in Brazil twice, he took his lead to nearly an entire race win ahead on points, the Australian driver now 24 points behind his teammate.
Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri. Getty
This means the fate of the drivers’ championship is out of the Australian’s hands and he’ll need divine intervention from the racing gods to see his maiden title play out.
Even his well-known sponsorship with Australian burger chain Grill’d took a hit.
Their promotion for members to receive a free burger every time Piastri posted a podium finish had to change tactics after the Aussie’s recent performance. It now hands out a free tasty treat for “every time Piastri finishes a race”.
Everyone will be questioning if he will be able to surge ahead to retake the championship lead or if all hope is lost as Norris leaves Piastri in his dust.
Points equation
We’ve hit the point in the season where we all start bringing the calculators out.
With three race weekends left, there is a maximum of 83 points available.
Three grands prix in Las Vegas, Qatar and Abu Dhabi and an extra eight points available in Qatar’s sprint race.
Piastri’s maiden title hopes are now officially out of his hands.
Oscar Piastri talks to the media during previews ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Brazil. Getty
He would need to win every single race and have Norris finish lower than second in each race for a shot at the title.
He would finish on 449 points if he won every single race from this point on.
Norris has a healthy 24-point lead right now over his McLaren teammate.
That means he does not need to win any more races to lift the drivers’ championship trophy. All Norris needs to do is finish second in all three races to finish on 451 points.
That means he would become champion by a buffer of two points.
For Max Verstappen, he would definitely need to take commanding wins in all three weekends and have the McLaren struggle for him to make a run at the title for a fifth consecutive year.
From left to right: Lando Norris, Oscar Piastri and Max Verstappen. Getty
“I think in terms of the championship, there’s no point thinking about it very much,” Piastri said after the grand prix in Brazil.
“There’s clearly some things we need to sort out. Just a tough weekend from a number of fronts, so I’ll focus on that instead.”
The mistakes that handed Norris the championship
In this championship fight, there are four significant moments in recent races that may have handed Norris the lead.
Piastri’s crash out of third place in Brazil’s sprint will most likely become a defining moment in this tense battle for years to come.
In a disrupted sprint race, Piastri dipped a wheel onto the kerb and flew into the barriers at turn three to bring out the red flag.
He was followed swiftly by Franco Colapinto and Nico Hulkenberg, who also fell victim to Norris kicking up water onto the drying track.
Piastri has been involved in three crashes in recent races: in Baku on the first lap that saw him ruled out of the race, United States that saw Piastri take full responsibility for the two drivers colliding and in Singapore with his teammate again.
All opening lap moments, these errors may have handed the title to Norris on a plate.
Adding to a woeful Brazil weekend, Piastri picked up zero points in the sprint race and hoped to find improved performance in qualifying.
Instead, his McLaren teammate took pole for the grand prix while Piastri had to settle for fourth.
Verstappen looked out of the picture, posting his first Q1 exit since 2021.
Max Verstappen driving the (1) Oracle Red Bull Racing RB21. LAT Images
His team decided to take a power unit penalty and started the Dutchman from the pitlane and he rode home to third place – most likely the season’s best drive yet.
Before that drive, Verstappen firmly believed his chances of taking his fifth title were long gone.
Norris peaked right on time
Norris has struggled this season with inconsistency in qualifying, leaving him trailing his Australian teammate for 15 races.
Now, he has begun a rampage of strong performances, leading him all the way to the top of the standings.
Lando Norris and Zak Brown on the podium with the trophies during F1 Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi. LAT Images
Norris historically peaks at the final races of the season. He finished second in Vegas and Qatar, and took victory in Abu Dhabi last year.
Both Verstappen and Piastri failed to win any of those three races in 2024.
Norris’ form has seen an uptick at coincidentally the perfect time for the championship and he is reaping the benefits.
Norris will be harder to beat at tracks he has previously done well at and with charging momentum that looks like it won’t be stopping any time soon, the 25-year-old is primed for his maiden championship title.