Credits: IMAGO / DeFodi
After dominantly winning several races at the start of the 2024 season, Max Verstappen seemed set to equal Sebastian Vettel’s feat of four consecutive championships for Red Bull. However, McLaren’s rise has allowed Lando Norris to emerge as a serious challenger to the Dutchman.
Verstappen currently had a 70-point lead over Norris in the drivers’ standings. However, McLaren’s consistent upgrades have given the British driver a competitive car to chase down that gap. If Norris can consistently win races, he can beat the Dutchman by the end of the season. However, there is also a possibility of the two drivers ending up on equal points after the final race in Abu Dhabi.
In this scenario of two drivers tying on points at the season’s end, a countback of wins and podiums happens. So, if Norris and Verstappen are equal on points, the driver with the more number of wins will win the championship. If the number of wins is also the same, then the driver with the higher number of P2 finishes will emerge victorious.
Currently, Verstappen has seven race wins under his belt, four of which came courtesy of the RB20’s advantage in the first part of the season. Moreover, McLaren and Norris not being able to win races in the last seven to eight rounds also helped the Dutchman accumulate more wins.
As a result, Norris only has won two races so far in Miami and Zandvoort. To avoid the countback situation, the #4 driver would ideally want to beat Verstappen on points.
If the Dutchman continues his metronomic consistency to finish second in every race, Norris will have to win all the remaining Grands Prix and sprint races besides taking at least five fastest laps to win the championship by one point.
On the other hand, he needs to win at least seven or eight of the remaining nine races to safeguard himself from the countback situation.
As for the Constructors’ championship, things are quite different for McLaren. After the Dutch GP, they are only 30 points behind Red Bull and have the momentum on their side to take the championship lead by the Singapore or the US GP.
The drivers’ championship is at a ‘too soon to call’ stage. With Norris’ 22-second win over Verstappen in Zandvoort, the Briton would feel confident about his championship bid.
