The 2024 F1 season had thrown up an unexpected championship fight between Max Verstappen and Lando Norris. This is the first time in three seasons that Verstappen is facing stern competition for the title and is also on the back foot with McLaren’s car being faster. Amid this, former Red Bull driver Sebastian Vettel has backed the Dutchman to seal his fourth consecutive championship.
In a conversation at the Blue Earth Summit, Vettel was asked whom he is backing between Verstappen and Norris to win the 2024 title. First, he expressed his hope that the title fight would go down to the wire. Then, the four-time world champion added,
“I think Max is the favorite and I think if I had to bet on one of the two today, it would be Max.”
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Currently, Verstappen is leading Norris by 52 points in the drivers’ standings. And with only six race weekends remaining, it is natural why Vettel is backing the Dutchman to close out the championship in his favor. Despite Red Bull’s struggles with their car this season, Verstappen has driven exceptionally well to maximize his points and retain his championship lead.
While the remaining six weekends have three sprint races as well along with the six Grands Prix, Norris will have to make a monumental effort to beat Verstappen. The McLaren driver has done well to win three races and emerge as a possible title rival for the reigning champion.
Still, he has left many wins on the table to make his job all the more difficult toward the business end of the season. As things stand, Norris has to outscore Verstappen by over 8.67 points every weekend to beat him to the title.
Who among Norris or Verstappen is more likely to be champion in 2024?
Verstappen’s 2024 has been nowhere close to being as dominant as 2023 was. While he started this season strong, Norris’ win in Miami in May started to shift the momentum in favor of McLaren. Meanwhile, Red Bull’s handling issues with its RB202 concept worsened during the second half of the season.
Nevertheless, Verstappen did a supreme job of eking out a few wins and podiums during this period to stay ahead in the championship battle. Norris was unable to make significant inroads into the Dutchman’s lead. Still, McLaren is leaving no stone unturned to break Verstappen’s title streak.
Staying true to form
The world champion has been keeping his numbers up throughout the season, especially in the Sprint races! #F1 pic.twitter.com/7xfjz5VnDz
— Formula 1 (@F1) October 14, 2024
While the Woking team was reluctant to deploy team orders in Norris’ favor, they will now to prioritize the Briton for the drivers’ championship sake. Even Norris‘ teammate Oscar Piastri is willing to help the #4 driver as much as possible.
With Piastri and Norris performing at a very high level with consistent podiums, Verstappen could be left alone come the end of the season. While he has driven well to retain his advantage in the title battle, the lack of support from his teammate Sergio Perez could leave him exposed against the McLaren duo.
Norris would count on that as well as Red Bull’s issues to stay unresolved. Because that would provide him with the golden chance to beat Verstappen to the title. Time will tell how the 2024 championship battle pans out and who comes out on top.
