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

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.

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:

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:

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: