In the past several weeks, discussions among experts and fans have revolved around whether Lando Norris can beat reigning champion Max Verstappen to his maiden title this season. However, one driver who has often gone under the radar in this time is Charles Leclerc, who interestingly has a better head-to-head record than Norris this year.
When both drivers have finished the race, Leclerc has defeated Norris 10 times compared to the nine times the Briton has finished ahead of the Monegasque. The only other driver to have a better head-to-head record against Norris is unsurprisingly Verstappen, who leads the championship from the McLaren driver by 62 points, with three race weekends (including one sprint race) remaining in the 2024 season.
Leclerc overtook Norris in the head-to-head after finishing ahead of the 24-year-old during the Sao Paulo Grand Prix last weekend. The Ferrari driver managed to finish fifth, while Norris only managed to finish sixth despite starting on pole.
With the Briton having such a disappointing end to the Sao Paulo GP race weekend, he has suffered a massive setback in his bid to fight for his maiden championship. Verstappen only needs to score 24 more points to win his fourth consecutive title. Then no matter where Norris finishes, Verstappen will win the championship.
As for Norris, instead of dreaming of winning the championship this season, he needs to look over his shoulder and hold onto second place, with Leclerc now only 24 points behind. Although Verstappen seems to have almost sealed the drivers’ Championship, the race is still very much on for the constructors’ title.
Ferrari or McLaren could end Red Bull’s recent dominance
Red Bull have dominated the recent ground effect era as they obliterated the field to win the championships in both 2022 and 2023. However, 2024 has provided them with a major shock.
Not only are Red Bull edging closer to losing the constructors’ title, but they find themselves in third place, 13 points behind second-placed Ferrari and another 36 points behind leaders McLaren. Both Ferrari and McLaren would be desperate to win the title and end their respective droughts.
Ferrari have not won a championship since 2008, while McLaren last won the constructors’ title in 1998. Therefore, both Norris and Leclerc still have a lot to play for even though they may no longer be in the hunt for the drivers’ title as they can potentially help their teams win their first championship in a long time.
