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“I have pipped Oscar Piastri throughout,” says the Sky Sports F1 commentator David Croft of the possible destiny of this season’s drivers’ title. “You know what a stubborn old man I am. I’m not changing now.”
Sammy Gecsoyler
Monaco, Las Vegas, Singapore. The list of pitstops on Lando Norris’ road to the top of Formula One is like a luxury travel agent’s catalogue.
So when I was asked to trace the young man’s journey ahead of a weekend in which he could become the first British champion driver since Lewis Hamilton, my hopes were high.
As the taxi pulled up outside the Clay Pigeon Raceway in Dorchester, however, my excitement was taken down a few gears.
It may seem an inauspicious place to blood the talent of those who will become some of the most glamorous, fiery competitors in sport, but here, in the shadow of an industrial estate not far from Yeovil, is where a growing number of Formula One stars are made.
Mathematically, Norris could finish as low as eighth and still be champion. But we are unlikely to need permutations that complex.
Personally I think Norris looks and sounds pretty chilled, and he remains confident of sealing the title, despite the drama of last week’s disqualification.
You can feast your eyes on yesterday’s sprint race and qualifying blog here:
Zak Brown, McLaren CEO, says it’s “business as usual”.
Max Verstappen, meanwhile, said something about trying to get the best possible start.
What do you think will happen today? You can email me.
Preamble
Lando Norris will be world champion for the first time if he wins today. Though given the drama of recent weeks, most notably the disqualification of both McLarens from the Las Vegas GP, it would be little surprise if the drivers’ title goes down to the final race of the season in Abu Dhabi next week.
More importantly for the destiny of the title, Piastri won yesterday’s sprint race, trimming Norris’s title lead to 22 points and taking pole position: so he is strongly fancied to take the chequered flag later. Max Verstappen of Red Bull isn’t out of contention, either, but will need the cards to fall in his favour.
We can dig into the permutations a bit more but if Norris is at least 25 points ahead of Max Verstappen in a few hours, and 26 or more in front of his teammate Oscar Piastri, he is champion … could we see a new name on that illustrious list today?
Lights out: 4pm UK time.
