How Verstappen can still claim the fifth title with six races to go

To keep his hopes of a fifth consecutive World Championship alive, the Dutchman would need to win all six remaining Grands Prix as well as the three Sprint races in Austin, Brazil, and Qatar.

At the same time, Verstappen would need a bit of help from Lando Norris. The Brit would have to finish second in at least two of the six Grands Prix, third twice, and fourth once — while being allowed to come third in all the remaining Sprints.

As for Piastri, he would lose the title only if he were to finish second in two of the remaining six races, third twice, fourth once, and fifth once, assuming he finishes runner-up in all the remaining Sprints. Under those conditions, Verstappen would be crowned World Champion with 447 points, just two ahead of Piastri and 19 clear of Norris.

The most striking case is the 2007 season, when Kimi Räikkönen in a Ferrari was third in the standings, 17 points behind rookie Lewis Hamilton and also behind Fernando Alonso, with just two races to go.

At that time, the old points system awarded a maximum of only ten points for a win. Räikkönen pulled off a historic comeback, winning the last two races while Hamilton faltered, making a surprising error in China by getting stuck at the pit entry and encountering technical problems in Brazil.

Räikkönen ultimately won the championship by a single point over Hamilton and Alonso, who finished level on points.

In 2010, the year Sebastian Vettel and Red Bull won their first world championship, the German started the final race in Abu Dhabi third in the standings, behind Fernando Alonso in a Ferrari and teammate Mark Webber.

On the eve of the race, Alonso led Webber by 8 points and Vettel by 15, and his strategy focused on keeping the Australian in check.

However, Alonso got stuck behind Vitaly Petrov’s Renault and was unable to pass, remaining trapped in traffic until the checkered flag. Vettel took full advantage, winning both the race and the championship, overtaking both rivals in the process.