By putting out a real masterclass in the rain yesterday, Max Verstappen reminded us of what a great driver he is, even if victory has been denied him for many months.
But the Dutchman knew how to perfectly optimize his results and his points during this period of scarcity. And with yesterday's very good result (26 points) coupled with a lackluster race from Lando Norris, he once again widened the gap in the drivers' championship.
With 62 points in advance, this gap is now more than enough for Verstappen to have a very good chance of being titled for the 4th time in Las Vegas since he must leave with at least 60 points in advance for that.
Conceding just two points may seem easy but if we see domination from McLaren F1 and Lando Norris as there has been (in the dry) recently, it will not necessarily be easy.
Verstappen can become world champion if:
— Generally speaking, he finishes ahead of Norris
— Norris is second and Verstappen is third with the fastest lap point
— Norris is third and Verstappen is fourth with the fastest lap point
— Norris is fourth and Verstappen is fifth
— Norris is fifth and Verstappen is sixth
— Norris is sixth and Verstappen is seventh
— Norris is seventh and Verstappen is eighth
— Norris is eighth and Verstappen is ninth
— Norris is ninth, tenth or fails to score, Verstappen can finish out of the points or retire.
