Can Verstappen still win 2025 F1 title?
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Max Verstappen has been closing the gap in the championship fight but with four races and two sprints left in calendar, can he win it?
"The chance is there," the 28-year-old said after the US Grand Prix.
The four-time world champion is currently 36 points behind leader Lando Norris and 37 points behind second-placed Oscar Piastri.
It is still mathematically possible for Verstappen to win the championship, with a total of 116 race and sprint winner points up for grabs.
Verstappen gained maximum points (33) at the US Grand Prix after he sealed wins in the sprint and main race.
The improvement to his car could pose a threat to the McLaren duo in the battle for the championship.
McLaren have had issues since the return from the summer break, with tension and controversy growing between their two drivers despite the team winning back-to-back constructors' championships.
It will still be difficult for Verstappen to make a comeback and a lot would need to go wrong for McLaren - but he has not given up hope just yet.
"We just need to try and deliver these weekends until the end. We will try whatever we can. It's exciting and I'm very excited until the end," he said after he won in Texas.
Verstappen has won five races so far this campaign, with victories coming in Japan, two in Italy, Azerbaijan and the US. He also won the Belgian and US sprint race.
"Max is in the contention for the drivers' championship, " admitted McLaren team principal Andrea Stella after Baku. "We knew it and we got confirmation today."
Red Bull will also want to improve their constructor standing points, currently 346, to finish in the top three. They would need to outperform Ferrari (356) and Mercedes (355) to move into second.
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Max Verstappen has won four consecutive championships from 2021 to 2024
When has a driver won from a late title charge?
There has been a handful of seasons where a driver has made a comeback to win the championship with less than 10 races left in a season.
Sebastian Vettel has done it twice. In 2010 he reduced a 31-point deficit with five races to go to pip Fernando Alonso and win his first championship.
Then in 2012 Vettel overcame a 39-point deficit with eight races remaining to best Alonso. The German took the lead from Alonso in four races and won the championship despite not winning the final three races of the season.
In the old points format, Kimi Raikkonen was behind by 17 points with two races remaining in the 2007 season. He beat McLaren duo Alonso and Lewis Hamilton to win the championship by just a single point.
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