Lando Norris heads into this weekend’s Qatar Grand Prix with his F1 title dream firmly in his hands despite losing a big haul of points to defending drivers world champion Max Verstappen last week.
The British driver saw his lead at the top of the F1 standings cut to 24 points after he and McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri were disqualified from the Las Vegas Grand Prix.
Norris had appeared to have moved a step closer to his first Formula 1 world title after finishing second at the end of a compelling race in Sin City.
Verstappen overtook Norris at the first corner and produced a dominant display to triumph in Nevada, a result that ensured the Red Bull driver remained in the hunt with just two races remaining of the season.
But there was more good news for reigning champion Verstappen shortly after he claimed his sixth victory of the season, with official confirmation of the stunning double disqualification arriving hours after the race had finished.
The disqualification – due to excessive skid block wear – means Verstappen sits level with Piastri on 366 points ahead of the penultimate race of the F1 season in the Middle East, which happens to be a sprint race weekend.
Though Norris remains top of the leaderboard, he finds himself with a lead of just 24 points over his rivals going into the final two events, culminating in the season-finale in Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on December 7.
What does Lando Norris need to win the F1 title this weekend?
Given there are a maximum of eight points available in the Qatar sprint race, Norris will not be able to win the title in this race alone.
However, a lead of 25 points or more by the end of the Qatar Grand Prix would see the Brit claim a historic victory with a race to spare.
This means that Norris only needs to outscore both Piastri and Verstappen by two points over the course of this weekend to land his first-ever world title.
Failure to do so will so the title battle roll over to a nerve-shredding championship showdown in Abu Dhabi next week.
No doubt with one eye already on Qatar, Norris said he would be holding a review of his ‘poor performance’ in Las Vegas to determine where there could be room for improvement.
‘I hate losing and we want to win as a team,’ he said.
‘Today was a pretty poor performance from our side so we’ll review and see what we can do better next time.’
Norris added: ‘I made the mistake into Turn One. You’ve got to be punchy into Turn One, I was just a bit too punchy,’ the McLaren driver told reporters.
‘That cost me, so that’s the way it is sometimes.’
‘It’s still a good result, second, and still good points so it’s not like I’m too disappointed,’ he added.
F1 standings
F1 points scoring system
In the F1 points scoring system, the top 10 finishers in each Grand Prix earn points from 25 (for first place) down to one (for tenth place).
In a Sprint Race, points are handed out to those drivers that finish in the top eight, from eight down to one.
As of 2025, a fastest lap point is no longer awarded. Half points can be awarded awarded if a race is forced to be shortened.
When is the Qatar Grand Prix and how to watch on TV
Key times and dates (GMT)
November 28: Sprint Qualifying (17:30 – 18:14)
November 29: Sprint (14:00 – 15:00)
November 29: Qualifying (18:00 – 19:00)
November 30: Race (16:00)
The F1 season is broadcast in the UK on both Sky Sports and Channel 4.
Sky Sports airs the races, plus practice rounds and qualifying, live, while free-to-air Channel 4 shows highlights of each race following the day’s action.
Viewers with Sky Sports as part of their TV packagecan stream the race via its app. The F1 season is also available with unlimited Sky Sports on a Now TV membership.