F1 Standings and title scenarios as surging Max Verstappen closes in on Piastri and Norris

Oscar Piastri, Max Verstappen, Lando Norris, British GP, 2025 — Photo: © IMAGO

F1 Standings

F1 Standings and title scenarios as surging Verstappen closes in on Piastri and Norris

We have a three-way title race and a new favourite heading to Mexico City.

Graham Shaw Consultant Editor

Digital sports specialist running global brands for 30 years

Sunday 26 October 2025 10:59

Take a look at the F1 standings today (Sunday October 26) and they tell a story which would scarcely have been believable a few short weeks ago - we have ourselves a three-way fight for the drivers’ title. And a new favourite.

The championship appeared to be a McLaren only battle when reigning king Max Verstappen trailed Oscar Piastri by a massive 104 points following the Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort in August.

Since then though the four-time world champion has roared back to cut the gap to just 40 in the space of five races. His latest masterpiece was claiming a maximum 33 points (winning the Sprint and Grand Prix) at Austin last weekend.

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Now it is genuinely game on with Verstappen having claimed exactly the same number of points (119) as both McLaren drivers combined since the summer break. An astonishing revival for the Red Bull superstar.

The pressure is squarely on Piastri and team-mate Lando Norris as the F1 circus lands in Mexico City this weekend for what should be a pivotal battle with just five more races remaining.

Latest F1 drivers’ standings

The standings after the US Grand Prix, and before the Mexico City Grand Prix, look like this:

Position	Driver	Team	Points
1	Oscar Piastri	McLaren	346
2	Lando Norris	McLaren	332
3	Max Verstappen	Red Bull	306
4	George Russell	Mercedes	252
5	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	192
6	Lewis Hamilton	Ferrari	142
7	Kimi Antonelli	Mercedes	89
8	Alex Albon	Williams	73
9	Nico Hulkenberg	Kick Sauber	41
10	Isack Hadjar	Racing Bulls	39
11	Carlos Sainz	Williams	38
12	Fernando Alonso	Aston Martin	37
13	Lance Stroll	Aston Martin	32
14	Liam Lawson	Racing Bulls	30
15	Esteban Ocon	Haas	28
16	Yuki Tsunoda	Red Bull	28
17	Pierre Gasly	Alpine	20
18	Ollie Bearman	Haas	20
19	Gabriel Bortoleto	Kick Sauber	18
20	Franco Colapinto	Alpine	0
21	Jack Doohan	Alpine	0

How can Verstappen win the championship?

Quite simply, it’s not as difficult as you would think for Verstappen to come from nowhere to claim a fifth consecutive world championship.

The Dutchman is very very close to controlling his own destiny here. If he wins all remaining races (yes, we know, a big ask) then all he would need in terms of help is Piastri to finish as low as third in one of those races.

Our graphic below tells the full story - the ball is just about in Verstappen’s court:

What Verstappen needs to win the title in 2025.

Latest Odds: Who is favourite to win the Drivers’ Championship?

The oddsmakers normally have a pretty good take on this, and their latest numbers make for astonishing reading. Very good for Verstappen, very bad for Norris and Piastri and great for all F1 fans.

It is super-tight at the top with all three drivers close in the betting. And the major news is that Verstappen is now favourite to take the title, unthinkable just a few weeks ago.

The very latest odds to become drivers' champion in 2025 are:

6/4 Max Verstappen

7/4 Oscar Piastri

15/8 Lando Norris

One other mind-blowing number for you to ponder - after the Hungarian Grand Prix on August 3, Verstappen was 50/1 to win the title. That is some turnaround.

Which F1 races are left in 2025?

So there are five Grands Prix remaining, and also two Sprint Races.

The dates for your schedules/calendars are as follows:

Sunday October 26: Mexico City Grand Prix

Saturday November 8: Brazilian Grand Prix Sprint Race

Sunday November 9: Brazilian Grand Prix

Saturday November 22: Las Vegas Grand Prix

Saturday November 29: Qatar Grand Prix Sprint Race

Sunday November 30: Qatar Grand Prix

Sunday December 7: Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

Written by

Graham Shaw - Consultant Editor

Digital sports leader with 30 years of senior level experience running global brands. Built sportinglife.com to be a behemoth in the UK as well as being in charge of the Planet Sport network of sites including planetf1.com, football365.com, teamtalk.com and planetrugby.com. Then grew goal.com to be the world's biggest soccer website in 18 languages and 37 territories. Was GM of Portals for Perform Group (now DAZN) with overall responsibility for sportingnews.com, spox.de and voetbalzone.nl.

View full biography

Max Verstappen Lando Norris Oscar Piastri