The result of the Mexico City GP last month further enlivened this situation.
Norris, the dominant winner, erased his Zandvoort engine-shutdown points loss, but the Mexico City results for both Verstappen and Piastri were precisely what the title fight needed. Because, after Norris had blitzed his way to pole, and with Verstappen qualifying fifth and Piastri starting down in seventh, they could have been a lot worse.
Verstappen’s post-Zandvoort points gap has long meant he needed perfection in results, allied with McLaren’s misfortune, to catch up. You could hear the sudden doubt in his voice after Mexico qualifying, when he declared those starting ahead of him were “miles faster.” Thanks to Red Bull’s canny strategy and his own skill, only Norris was ultimately out of the Dutchman’s reach.
Even though Verstappen was denied a late chance to pass Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari on the last laps by the late virtual safety car activation, his brilliance in rising to third kept the pressure on in title terms. He had a new target in the points lead in Norris, but Verstappen still left Mexico with the gap ultimately closed by four more points.
And Piastri’s Mexico race pace was impressively fast, given he’d looked absolutely nowhere against Norris in qualifying. But for his poor start, he might have been in that Leclerc/Verstappen fight to complete the podium. For all his recent underwhelming results, he won’t just disappear from this tale.
F1 heads to Brazil, Las Vegas, Qatar and Abu Dhabi to close out 2025. Verstappen is still chasing, and he’s typically at his supreme best in such situations, as seen in his Brazil 2024 wet-weather masterclass from 17th on the grid to winning the race.
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Piastri still has to turn it around, but he appeared to have found at least some of what he needed to on the slippery Mexico City track surface. Handy, with rain forecast at Interlagos and the cool Nevada night temperatures, leaving the drivers generally struggling for grip in Vegas.
McLaren was poor there last year, but the team is confident it will avoid a repeat due to the 2025 Pirelli tires holding on better than their predecessors when it comes to the graining drivers encounter on cool, grip-less track surfaces. Mercedes and Ferrari have also gone very well in Vegas the past two years.
And while Qatar and Abu Dhabi appear to be perfect for McLaren’s MCL39 car with their many medium-speed corners, Verstappen is a multiple winner at each venue, and there’s plenty of high-speed stuff in Qatar to suit the RB21.
So, F1 2025 is finally finely poised. It might not be the battle we were promised, but it now has the makings of a true thriller.
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