Unlike last season, however, he hasn\u2019t had the chance to build up a cache of points on which he can ride to the finish line.<\/p>\n
Unless RBR can come up with some season-changing upgrades \u2014 or unless McLaren suffers a monumental choke \u2014 Verstappen\u2019s 32-point deficit is sure to get only wider.<\/p>\n
![](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/poster-fallback.png\"\/)
<\/p>\n
But none of that will stop him from playing defining role in the title battle.<\/p>\n
And that\u2019s especially true if the championship boils down to a one-on-one fight between Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris.<\/p>\n
Verstappen\u2019s omnipresence in the frontrunning pack adds an additional fascinating dimension to that duel, particularly given pre-season predictions had generally revolved around him and Norris turning last year\u2019s bout of shadow boxing into the real thing.<\/p>\n
But instead Piastri\u2019s big off-season gains have added him into the mix, creating a fascinating contrast that could define where the championship is won and lost.<\/p>\n
PIT TALK PODCAST: Michael and Matt catch up with 1978 Formula 1 world champion and Cadillac director Mario Andretti to get the latest on the American team\u2019s preparation for 2026, its hand in the driver market and where the next American driver will come from.<\/b><\/p>\n
THE MIAMI EXAMPLE<\/b><\/p>\n
There\u2019s a strong argument to mount that Norris was best placed to win the Miami Grand Prix, having qualified better and demonstrated race pace at least as strong as Piastri\u2019s Sunday form.<\/p>\n
Instead first-lap contact with Verstappen as he attempted to take the lead left him tumbling down the order, forcing him into a longwinded comeback.<\/p>\n
With Piastri also needing to pass the Dutchman to win the race, it set up an interesting little comparison into how each McLaren driver battled with the reigning champion.<\/p>\n
Piastri was the first to engage, getting within a second of the leader on lap 8. He methodically poked and prodded Verstappen\u2019s defences \u2014 small looks and parries that minimised time lost \u2014 while his rival studiously covered the inside line, knowing it was his only hope of holding position.<\/p>\n
Eventually he set up the move out of the hairpin, giving himself a good enough launch to run alongside Verstappen into the first turn and then forcing an error, taking the place after the Dutchman locked up and sailed off the road.<\/p>\n
He took the lead just as Norris began homing in on the fight.<\/p>\n
But when it was his turn to size up the Red Bull Racing driver, his attempts were less incisive and more costly.<\/p>\n
His first attempt to cling around Verstappen\u2019s outside saw him predictably run off the road at the first turn.<\/p>\n
His next attempt was at turn 11, where he executed an overtake off the road and was forced to give back the place, costing him more valuable time.<\/p>\n
Eventually a better run down to turn 11 \u2014 Verstappen\u2019s tyres by now aching from exertion \u2014 got him ahead down the inside line before the braking zone.<\/p>\n
But by then his race was lost. The battle had cost him seven seconds to leader Piastri. He took the chequered flag with a 4.6-second deficit.<\/p>\n
It would be easy to conclude that Norris\u2019s racecraft simply isn\u2019t as sharp as Piastri\u2019s, but that would be an exaggeration.<\/p>\n
After all, to get to within striking distance of second place, the Briton had to pull off a fantastically inventive pass on George Russell through the sweeping first sector.<\/p>\n
The difference was Verstappen.<\/p>\n
How Piastri got Max to outbreak himself | 00:57<\/p>\n
CARRY-ON BAGGAGE ONLY<\/b><\/p>\n
Martin Brundle is in no doubt that Verstappen battles Piastri and Norris differently.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think he knows that there\u2019s something a bit more street fighter about Oscar Piastri,\u201d Brundle told the Sky Sports F1 podcast.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think Max knows he\u2019s got a different animal when Oscar\u2019s in his mirrors \u2014 not by much \u2014 [compared to] Lando.<\/p>\n
\u201cJust the positioning of the car, there\u2019s a decisiveness about what he did.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have absolutely no doubt \u2014 and just words he says as well \u2014 that Max realises Oscar\u2019s a different deal in wheel-to-wheel combat.\u201d<\/p>\n
But the argument cuts both ways. Undoubtedly Piastri and Norris race Verstappen differently too.<\/p>\n
Piastri is almost unique among the frontrunners in that he has comparatively little history racing wheel to wheel with the Dutchman. Only rookie Andrea Kimi Antonelli is similarly green.<\/p>\n
Lewis Hamilton brings with him the scars of 2021, while Charles Leclerc has his own potted history from 2019 and 2022, the former when scrapping for rare wins and the latter with the title ostensibly on the line.<\/p>\n
George Russell had his out-of-the-blue blow-up with Verstappen late last year after their disagreements at the Qatar Grand Prix.<\/p>\n
And Norris has the baggage of his losing battles with the champion last season, almost all of which were coloured by him attempting to insert himself into the title fight.<\/p>\n
Their crash at the top of the hill at the Austrian Grand Prix while battling for the lead was seminal, and while few saw it as anything other than Verstappen overreach, bizarrely Norris found himself making excuses on behalf of the Dutchman in the aftermath, unwilling to fight his corner despite his costly points loss.<\/p>\n
Their battles later in the year, as McLaren\u2019s star rose, became pricklier.<\/p>\n
There was their fight for the podium in Austin, when Verstappen outmanoeuvred him with a better understanding of the rules to force Norris into an off-track overtake that ended with a five-second penalty.<\/p>\n
Things stepped up a notch in Mexico, where Verstappen really threw his elbows out trying to beat the Briton, earning two 10-second penalties for efforts.<\/p>\n
The thread between their various run-ins was that Verstappen dictated the play. Norris was always having to return often difficult or impossible serves.<\/p>\n
Verstappen wasn\u2019t always in the right, but by constantly pushing the envelope he established the dynamic between him and Norris on his terms, and it\u2019s now constantly to his advantage.<\/p>\n
Norris gets testy after Miami Grand Prix | 02:16<\/p>\n
THE FIRST SIGNS OF FRUSTRATION<\/b><\/p>\n
Breaking that dynamic is difficult, and it becomes increasingly difficult with each battle that passes.<\/p>\n
That could now be crucial with a championship on the line.<\/p>\n
Intriguingly Norris let slip some tiny signs of frustration after the Miami Grand Prix.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s the way it is with Max \u2013 it\u2019s crash or don\u2019t pass,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s fighting hard, but it\u2019s up to him to do that.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s ruined his own race. He\u2019s not racing very smart. He probably could\u2019ve finished third today, and he didn\u2019t because of that. \u201c<\/p>\n
Of course Norris is right that third was probably possible for Verstappen had he simply waved the McLaren cars through and preserved his tyres, but that\u2019s a fundamental misreading of the Dutchman\u2019s motivation.<\/p>\n
That was simply never going to happen, especially so early in the season. Norris\u2019s would\u2019ve known this deep down too.<\/p>\n
Piastri, meanwhile, battles Verstappen totally unencumbered by such history. These two rivals are practically new to each other, and in these early days of combat the Australian\u2019s cool and decisive moves have prevented the Dutchman from claiming the psychological upper hand.<\/p>\n
It was interesting to hear Verstappen praise Piastri after being defeated at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix despite fuming over the stewards decision that penalised him for running off the track at the first chicane in a vain attempt to keep the McLaren behind.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s very solid,\u201d he said. \u201cHe\u2019s very calm in his approach, and I like that.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt shows on track. He delivers when he has to, barely makes mistakes, and that\u2019s what you need when you want to fight for a championship.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt the end of the day Oscar is using his talent, and that\u2019s great to see.\u201d<\/p>\n
Verstappen\u2019s compliments were probably genuine, but it\u2019s difficult not to see them contrasting Piastri\u2019s form with Norris\u2019s slightly less clinical approach \u2014 and you have to wonder whether that was part of their purpose in a tactical little barb directed at the Briton.<\/p>\n
‘If I don’t go for it people complain’ | 01:05<\/p>\n
\u2018KEEP QUIET\u2019<\/b><\/p>\n
There\u2019s been a lot made of Norris\u2019s psychological make-up in this early phase of the season, with plenty speculating on whether the Briton has the mental fortitude to go the distance.<\/p>\n