Piastri and Norris have let Verstappen back in the title fight

Given the excellent form McLaren has shown since the beginning of the season, and judging Red Bull's inability to put in consecutive performances, it is almost inexplicable that Verstappen sits 69 points away in the Drivers' Standings after 17 rounds.

However, McLaren's drivers have not always been able to capitalise on their car's potential in the same way Verstappen has done.

In Japan, for instance, Verstappen made the difference when both McLaren drivers delivered scruffy last minute qualifying laps, edging them both out for pole, and with Suzuka being a circuit where track position is incredibly important due to how difficult it is to overtake, regardless of the MCL39's pace advantage over the RB21, Verstappen was able to drive home his first win of the season.

On Norris' side there have been several qualifying blunders that have resulted in him starting races out of position, forcing him to execute comeback races, making his life harder than it should be. In Canada this resulted in an crash with his teammate, Piastri.

With two DNF's at his back and a few non-podium finishes such as in Saudi Arabia, or in Azerbaijan most recently where he placed P7, it's telling that Norris isn't trailing Piastri by as many points as Verstappen.

This suggests there have been plenty of opportunities left on the table, uncapitalised, by both McLaren drivers. Piastri's spin in Australia, and his lap 1 crash in Baku have now come to collect.

A trait that characterises Verstappen is his ability to deliver. Weekend after weekend, the Dutchman poses a threat on the timesheets, usually being classed as either the best of the rest, or the leader of the session when his machinery, and others' mistakes, will allow him.

When his car is good enough for pole, he usually claims the first spot on the grid. When his potential and grid position suggests he should win a race, he more often than not does.

This is a level of consistency that neither McLaren driver have been able to live up to on a regular basis.

In two race weekends McLaren have left the door open, and twice has Verstappen drawn blood, cutting Piastri's lead in the championship standings by 35 points, a third of what it was after the Dutch Grand Prix.

Seven Grands Prix to go and it seem like too short an amount of time to turn the championship around. After all it would require McLaren to lose every race left on the calendar, and Verstappen, on the contrary, would need to win nearly every race, if not all, to secure his fifth consecutive World Championship.

An impossibility? One merely needs to look back at the 2023 season to know that he has the potential to do it.

McLaren team boss Andrea Stella has, since Verstappen's pole position for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, claimed Verstappen is back in the championship fray, refusing statements that point to Red Bull's comeback being circuit dependant and indicating that the Austrian team's latest floor upgrade in Monza was the reason behind their performance swing, which the Italian believes has made the Austrian racing strong in the high, medium and low speed corners.

Norris, too, echoed his team boss' assessment and stated no one should be surprised by the fact Red Bull is quick. Verstappen, however, refrained from supporting or denying any potential claims to the 2025 F1 title.

Red Bull Racing boss Laurent Mekies emphasised that the team were more focused on implementing their aggressive approach in the pursuit of more lap time across each weekend than on the standings, and the Austrian's chief advisor Helmut Marko chose to wait and see how the Singapore Grand Prix would unfold before making any comments on the championship. Despite initially calling this a two-horse race for the title, we now could be in for one hell of a title fight.