Max Verstappen has officially bid farewell to the 2025 Formula 1 World Championship, but he still has a concrete goal to chase. After the Brazilian Grand Prix, the Red Bull driver increased his deficit to second place to 25 points. With three races remaining, Verstappen is now focused on securing the runner-up spot, while Oscar Piastri faces mounting pressure amid a performance crisis.
Following the São Paulo weekend, Verstappen was clear: “Let’s forget about any chance at the world title.” Considering the 83 points still available (three Grand Prix plus a sprint race), the 49-point gap to Lando Norris now seems almost impossible to close. However, while it may seem symbolic, finishing the 2025 season in second place in the drivers’ standings remains a realistic target for Verstappen, with Oscar Piastri now very much in his sights.
After Interlagos, the gap between the two has narrowed to 25 points. A mistake by Oscar, coupled with a win from Max Verstappen, could allow Max to catch him. But it’s not just this scenario that makes the champion’s overtaking a tangible possibility. Since the Italian Grand Prix, Verstappen has consistently posted better weekend results than Oscar Piastri, scoring 136 points to Oscar’s 57. Over six race weekends, he has recovered 69 points, averaging 11.5 per race—numbers that make his comeback far from improbable.
The Brazilian Grand Prix demonstrated that Red Bull still has the potential to aim for race wins, provided they find the right operating window. Much less predictable, however, is the level of performance Piastri will be able to deliver in the upcoming rounds in Las Vegas, Losail, and Yas Marina.
The performance gap between Oscar and Norris has become one of the most discussed topics during the autumn phase of the championship. In Brazil, team principal Andrea Stella linked the deficit to the low-grip conditions that characterized recent race weekends, but many believe the explanation is not that simple.
So far, the gap between the McLaren drivers has largely been interpreted as Norris’s growth, appearing more consistent and solid than in the first half of the season. However, many argue that the deficit is mainly due to a drop in Piastri’s performance. While Norris’s improvement might have simply reversed the order of McLaren’s ‘one-two finishes,’ Oscar’s collapse has been so severe that he hasn’t reached the podium in the last five Grand Prix. In his hands, the MCL39 has become vulnerable not only to Verstappen but also to Charles Leclerc and the two Mercedes cars, who are now far behind Norris.
Oscar Piastri is increasingly within Verstappen’s reach, a remarkable perspective considering that after the Dutch Grand Prix (Piastri’s last win), the gap between the two was a massive 104 points. For Max, finishing second in the final standings would change little, but for Oscar Piastri, finishing third would confirm an unexpected and significant collapse. For Oscar, much more is at stake than it appears: the 24-point deficit to Norris seems a steep challenge, but the 25-point advantage over Verstappen is crucial to avoid another setback that could leave deep scars ahead of 2026.
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