U.S. GP: What’s at stake for Lando Norris and Max Verstappen?

With six rounds of the Formula 1 season remaining, a genuine title fight is brewing between Max Verstappen and Lando Norris.

Long-time followers of the sport will know how rare it is for a championship battle to be decided at the final round of the year — with just 30 examples in the sport’s 74-year history and only three in the last 10 years — but based on the two drivers’ trajectory over the last five races, the 2024 season is trending towards a showdown at the final round in Abu Dhabi.

The current gap between Verstappen and Norris stands at 52 points (Verstappen on 331 points, Norris on 279) with a total of 180 still up for grabs for any single driver if they win every race, every sprint race and score all bonus points for fastest laps (as unlikely as that is).

If the two drivers are tied on points at the final round, the one with the most victories would be crowned champion (Verstappen currently has seven to Norris’ three) and if that number is tied it would go to countback on second places, then third places and so on.

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How many points are on offer at each race?

The F1 points system offers up the following per position at the end of each grand prix.

1st – 25 points
2nd – 18 points
3rd – 15 points
4th – 12 points
5th – 10 points
6th – 8 points
7th – 6 points
8th – 4 points
9th – 2 points
10th – 1 point
Fastest lap: 1 bonus point providing the driver finishes in the top 10

There are three sprint races remaining this year, which offer up an opportunity to score extra points on the Saturday of the race weekend in a shortened standalone race. The points are distributed as follows.

1st – 8 points
2nd – 7 points
3rd – 6 points
4th – 5 points
5th – 4 points
6th – 3 points
7th – 2 points
8th – 1 point

Three of the remaining six rounds have sprint races as part of the schedule, starting this weekend in Austin.

Remaining races:

• October 20: US Grand Prix (Sprint weekend)

• October 27: Mexican Grand Prix

• November 3: Brazilian Grand Prix (Sprint weekend)

• November 24: Las Vegas Grand Prix

• December 1: Qatar Grand Prix (Sprint weekend)

• December 8: Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

What does Norris need to do to win?