Lando Norris is still in position to win the 2025 F1 world championship despite finishing third in the Qatar GP sprint.

The McLaren driver’s grip on the title was weakened last week in Las Vegas after the FIA’s investigation into the skid blocks underneath both drivers’ cars, with Max Verstappen winning the race on The Strip.

Norris had finished second, after a mistake on pole at the opening corner had dropped him behind Verstappen and Mercedes’ George Russell.

Norris moved clear of Russell with 16 laps remaining to take second place, with Oscar Piastri two positions back in fourth. But after both McLaren drivers’ points were wiped off, Norris’ lead has been chopped from 30 to 24 points clear of both Piastri and Verstappen with just 58 left on the table across the concluding two rounds.

It means the 26-year-old Englishman could still secure the world title with a round to spare at the Qatar Grand Prix.

But when can Norris claim the 2025 F1 world championship?

After disqualification in Las Vegas, Norris’ lead to both Oscar Piastri and Max Verstappen was down to 24 points.

However, by the end of the final sprint race of the year at the penultimate round in Qatar, Piastri and Verstappen would need to be within 50 points of Norris to stand a mathematical chance of catching him. With a maximum of eight points in the sprint, Norris could not win the title in the Qatar sprint race. The worst situation for both chasing drivers is a deficit of 32 points.

Piastri won the sprint, closing the gap to 22 points, but Verstappen is now 25 points off Norris.

Therefore, the earliest Norris can win the title is still the Grand Prix in Qatar on Sunday 30 November. Norris will be crowned champion if he outscores Piastri by four points, and finishes ahead of Verstappen in any position, in Sunday’s main event.

A points advantage of more than 25 points by the end of the Qatar Grand Prix would see him win the title with one race to spare.

Put simply: If Norris outscores Piastri and Verstappen by two or more points in Qatar, over both the Sprint and Grand Prix, he will become world champion. He will also become world champion if he outscores Piastri and Verstappen by one point and wins Sunday’s grand prix.

Piastri and Verstappen, meanwhile, have to be within 25 points of Norris to stay in the hunt at the season-finale in Abu Dhabi.