The recent topic of discussion in the F1 world is who will claim the driver’s championship this season. As of the United States Grand Prix, McLaren driver Oscar Piastri is in the lead with 346 points, followed closely by his teammate Lando Norris with 332 points and Red Bull driver Max Verstappen in third place with 306 points.
In the past four races, Piastri has not won a race and has only appeared on the podium once, finishing third during the Italian Grand Prix. His teammate, Lando Norris, has been on the podium three times in the past four races. After the United States Grand Prix in Austin, Norris has closed the gap to his teammate on the leaderboard to just 14 points.
In third place, four-time world champion Max Verstappen has forced himself back into the conversation for the driver’s championship with three wins and one podium in the past four races. Many factors have contributed to this performance, such as the Red Bull team finally having a competitive car after struggling throughout the whole season. Having a competitive car means they can compete with the dominating McLarens, who have won 12 races and have secured 29 podiums in the past 17 races.
With Verstappen only 40 points away from Piastri, it’s possible that he could score enough points to win his fifth driver’s championship in the next five races; however, Verstappen’s chances are slim with both McLaren drivers in his way and the unpredictable nature of F1 weekends.
Piastri and Norris have consistently placed on the podium this season, with Piastri having two more wins than Norris. Verstappen has struggled throughout this season due to Red Bull’s earlier uncompetitiveness but is starting to show improvement in recent races.
Despite this, I think that Oscar Piastri will win the driver’s championship, with Lando Norris very close behind him and Max Verstappen placing in third, only a couple of points behind Norris. I believe this because Piastri has demonstrated he can compete with more experienced drivers despite being in F1 for only three years. He has also outperformed his teammate multiple times during the season. These qualities will enable him to fend off Norris and Verstappen long enough to win.
