BARRETTO: Norris, Piastri or Verstappen – who looks stronger at each of the final four rounds?

A couple of months ago, both the Drivers' and Teams' Championships looked like foregone conclusions. Oscar Piastri had just won the Dutch Grand Prix – and with McLaren team mate Lando Norris suffering a mechanical failure when running second, the Australian's advantage over Norris ballooned to 34 points. Max Verstappen, meanwhile, was a monstrous 104 adrift in P3...

But while McLaren converted that advantage by wrapping up the defence of the Team's Championship three races later in Singapore, a plot twist had been written in courtesy of Red Bull and Verstappen. With their rivals fully focused on development for the new-for-2026 regulations, Red Bull opted to divert a bit more cash to this year's car – and it was paying off.

Verstappen won three races in four weekends and was forcing his way into title contention while Piastri was going the other way. Having been on the podium in 14 of the first 16 races of 2025, Piastri is now on a run of four races outside the top three and has lost his grip on the title lead for the first time since Saudi Arabia.