The Monegasque came back 8 lengths behind Lando Norris for second place in the world championship. He has the opportunity to overtake him in Abu Dhabi, where the priority will be above all to beat McLaren in the constructors' championship.
Who would have thought, just a few months ago, that Lando Norris would be on his way to finishing third in the championship? The Briton was rather expected to be the future world champion thanks to his McLaren, which was so strong during the summer. But the Briton lost big in Qatar, finishing only 10th after a heavy penalty at the end of the event.
The McLaren driver fortunately scored 7 points thanks to his second place in the sprint race, which allowed him to remain second in the championship, but his lead over Charles Leclerc melts like snow in the sun. The Monegasque, 2nd in Losail, is only 8 points behind before the last game of the year in Abu Dhabi. The fight between the two men, however, will only be the background to the battle between their teams.
McLaren – Ferrari and Alpine – Haas, two great duels in anticipation
McLaren (640 pts) is trying to contain the return of Ferrari (619 pts), which will need a perfect weekend coupled with a little success to hope to win its first constructors' title since 2008. The Woking firm is waiting her for even longer: we have to go back to 1998 to find any trace of his last coronation!
The duel at the top is not the only issue in the manufacturers' ranking, where the battle for the top 6 still rages. Thanks to Pierre Gasly's fine fifth place, Alpine has regained a five-point lead over Haas, a lead which should be sufficient, barring a major performance from the American team.
While Sauber unlocked its tally thanks to Guanyu Zhou, there are now only Valtteri Bottas and Logan Sargeant who have not scored a single point this season. Unlike the American, the Finn will have one last round in Abu Dhabi, where he won in 2017.
The ranking of the drivers
- Max Verstappen (Red Bull) – 429 pts
- Lando Norris (McLaren) – 349 pts
- Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) – 341 pts
- Oscar Piastri (McLaren) – 291 pts
- Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) – 272 pts
- George Russell (Mercedes) – 235 pts
- Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) – 211 pts
- Sergio Perez (Red Bull) – 152 pts
- Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) – 68 pts
- Nico Hülkenberg (Haas) – 37 pts
- Pierre Gasly (Alpine) – 36 pts
- Yuki Tsunoda (Racing Bulls) – 30 pts
- Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) – 24 pts
- Esteban Ocon (Alpine) – 23 pts
- Kévin Magnussen (Haas) – 16 pts
- Alex Albon (Williams) – 12 pts
- Daniel Ricciardo (Racing Bulls) – 12 pts
- Oliver Bearman (Ferrari/Haas) – 7 pts
- Franco Colapinto (Williams) – 5 pts
- Guanyu Zhou (Stake) – 4 pts
- Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls) – 4 pts
- Valtteri Bottas (Stake)
- Logan Sargeant (Williams)
The ranking of manufacturers
- McLaren – 640 pts
- Ferrari – 619 pts
- Red Bull – 581 pts
- Mercedes – 446 pts
- Aston Martin – 92 pts
- Alpine – 59 pts
- Haas – 54 pts
- Racing Bulls – 46 pts
- Williams – 17 pts
- Sauber – 4 pts
Photo credit – Ferrari
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