Max Verstappen’s eventual winning margin over Lando Norris in the drivers’ championship was 63 points. Norris made the gap more favourable by winning the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix as the Dutchman finished sixth.
Verstappen’s advantage over Norris was largest after the British GP at the start of July. The McLaren driver blew a shot at victory at his home race, and lost out on P2 to the eventual world champion.
The gap was 84 points after that event, and while Verstappen was unknowingly at the beginning of a ten-race winless run, it never dropped below 44. Norris was closer than ever after winning the Sao Paulo GP Sprint (with the aid of Oscar Piastri), but his rival’s extraordinary victory in the wet race that followed effectively ended the battle for good.
| RACE | VER | NOR | GAP |
| British Grand Prix | 255 | 171 | 84 |
| Hungarian Grand Prix | 265 | 189 | 76 |
| Belgian Grand Prix | 277 | 199 | 78 |
| Italian Grand Prix | 303 | 241 | 62 |
| Azerbaijan Grand Prix | 313 | 254 | 59 |
| Singapore Grand Prix | 331 | 279 | 52 |
| United States Grand Prix | 354 | 297 | 57 |
| Mexico City Grand Prix | 362 | 315 | 47 |
| Sao Paulo Grand Prix | 393 | 331 | 62 |
| Las Vegas Grand Prix | 403 | 340 | 63 |
| Qatar Grand Prix | 429 | 349 | 80 |
| Abu Dhabi Grand Prix | 437 | 374 | 63 |
McLaren’s team orders at the Hungarian GP prevented Norris from gaining maximum points on a struggling Verstappen, who finished fifth. And then in Belgium, the Red Bull driver finished ahead despite a 10-place grid penalty for an engine component change.
Red Bull were perhaps slowest of all at the Italian GP, but Norris fell to third after losing a lap-one battle with Piastri. He also made minimal inroads in Azerbaijan after a Q1 exit.
Martin Brundle seethed at Norris for surrendering the lead at the start of the US GP, and then a controversial battle with Verstappen potentially cost him a win in Mexico. One can see how the lost points added up.
Max Verstappen believes Lando Norris could have won F1 championship
In a special interview with Viaplay, Verstappen argued Norris missed an opportunity this year. He’d clinched his fourth title in succession with effective damage limitation efforts for much of the season.
Verstappen took nine race victories in 2024, 10 fewer than he managed in his record-breaking 2023 march. He’d bagged 15 in 2022, and hit double figures when fighting Lewis Hamilton for his first crown.
Norris also matched Verstappen for total poles (eight) and scored just one fewer podium (14 vs 13). But the gap remains relatively large due to the Englishman’s underwhelming haul of four wins.
“Yes, that too, yes,” Verstappen replied when asked if Norris could have won the title. He added that McLaren ‘100%’ left points on the table with questionable execution in the races.
Guenther Steiner warns Lando Norris he faces an even bigger threat than Max Verstappen
Former F1 team manager Peter Windsor is concerned that Norris is ‘swallowing’ McLaren’s PR line after losing out on the championship. The team won their first constructors’ title since 1998.
They have understandably focused on that in recent weeks rather than their failure to beat Verstappen. But Windsor says Norris must demand accountability.
He’ll enter 2025 as many experts’ title favourite given that McLaren demonstrably had the best package over the course of the year. Minimal regulation changes should, in theory, preserve their advantage.
But former Haas boss Guenther Steiner has warned that Piastri will be Norris’ biggest enemy in 2025. He comfortably had the beating of his teammate this year in the end, but Piastri should take another step in his third F1 campaign.
