Over the last four grands prix before the summer break Max Verstappen finished fifth, second, fifth again and fourth. An average finish of fourth place doesn’t usually deliver world championships.
Those missed points were pocketed by his rivals. One out-scored Verstappen by 27 over that period, another by 23. Yet the prospect the 2024 championship will slip out of his grasp still looks thin.
The three-times world champion built himself a useful lead over the first 10 rounds of the season, seven of which he won, despite a technical failure ending his race early in Australia. He held a 69-point lead in the standings after his seventh win of the season in Spain.
Significantly, despite the tough run he has endured since then, Verstappen has increased his lead at the top of the standings to 78 points during that time. In a competitive field, no one has yet emerged as consistently Verstappen’s clearest threat.
Will that happen when the final 10 races of the season begin this weekend? Is it already too late for anyone to seriously consider taking the fight to Verstappen? And who poses the most realistic threat?
Lando Norris
78 points behind, last four results: 20th, 3rd, 2nd, 5th
Despite being Verstappen’s closest rival in the championship, Norris has only out-scored the points leader in three rounds so far this year, one of which was Australia. The McLaren has been a strong match for the Red Bull on pace since Norris received the team’s last major upgrade in Miami, but he admits he has made too many mistakes since then.
Had it not been for his latest error, Norris would have gone into the summer break in a much more positive position. The Belgian Grand Prix was an open goal for him as far as the championship was concerned: Verstappen was confined to 11th on the grid by a penalty, while Norris lined up fourth. But an unnecessary touch of the gravel trap at the exit of the first corner brought the Red Bull within range, and Verstappen led him home again. Norris started one place behind the eventual winner, Lewis Hamilton, making his missed opportunity all the more galling.
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No doubt Norris has borne the inevitable brunt of being the focus of Verstappen’s attention at times, as in Austria, and that has limited his points-scoring at times. Nor is there doubt he and his car are potentially quick enough to rival Verstappen. But the accumulation of…
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