'Blockbuster finish': Staggering F1 championship plot twists Max Verstappen could match in 2025
Updated . First published at
The Formula 1 drivers' championship is a fragile pendulum, with any wrong move or lack of performance allowing a comeback from competitors in the field.
That's what we saw on Monday morning (AEDT) with Max Verstappen's perfect weekend in Austin, that whittled down the buffer between he and championship leader Oscar Piastri to just 40 points.
Just four races ago, it seemed the Australian was clear up the road, with no-one able to catch him but his teammate.
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Even Red Bull heavyweight Helmut Marko admitted that the team "had given up" in the summer break, due to their poor performance.
But a string of consistent results has renewed the charge.
"Max [Verstappen], with his Nürburgring [GT3] victory, came back incredibly motivated," said Marko.
"Honestly, during the summer, we had already given up. And now everyone's hungry again."
Piastri's manager, Australian Mark Webber downplayed the United States weekend's damage, saying that in terms of the young gun's perspective, there's "nothing wrong."
"He [Mark Webber] said, 'There's nothing wrong with Oscar. His head's up, his chin's up. Yep, he's lost a few points but he's still got a very healthy lead out in front'," said David Croft on the Sky Sports broadcast.
Max Verstappen leads as Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri of Australia crash at the start during the Sprint. LAT Images
"You've got to reverse the trend at some stage. There's still an awful long way to go in the season.
"It's going to give us a blockbuster finish. I absolutely think Oscar Piastri has the mental capacity to cope in this fight."
If Verstappen does win the drivers' championship, it will rank among some of the best comeback championship wins of all-time.
Here are some more of the others that it will rival:
2007: Kimi Räikkönen
Kimi Räikkönen, in his first year with Ferrari, finished just one point ahead of McLaren pair Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso.
With five rounds remaining, Hamilton led the pack with 84 points, while Räikkönen was behind in fourth place in the standings on 68 points.
Felipe Massa (2nd position), Kimi Raikkonen (1st position) and Fernando Alonso (3rd position) in the post race press conference. LAT Images
The Finn added two race wins in Belgium and China to his resume to move only seven points behind in the title fight and as he clinched victory in the season finale in Brazil - he took the championship by one point from the McLaren teammates.
2008: Lewis Hamilton
The next year, Hamilton was on a vengeance run for the championship.
Steeped in controversy, the 2008 season ended with one family cheering for victory and watching in real time as the championship was snatched from their hands in epic fashion.
Coming into the final race of the season, Felipe Massa needed to win the race and have Hamilton finish sixth or lower to be crowned champion.
Massa did just that.
He won the race and watched as Hamilton started the final lap in sixth place.
McLaren Mercedes' Great British driver Lewis Hamilton celebrates after winning the Formula One World Championship. PA Images via Getty Images
Cue celebration in the Ferrari garage.
But as Hamilton rounded the final corner, he took the coveted fifth place position from Toyota's Timo Glock and won the championship by a single point.
1982: Keke Rosberg
Keke Rosberg, 2016 championship winner Nico Rosberg's father, took his one and only championship win during the 1982 season.
The German began the final third of the season trailing down in fifth place on the standings on 23 points.
His competitor Didier Pironi led with a tally of 39.
Keke Rosberg. LAT Images
As Pironi sustained injuries in the German Grand Prix that ended his campaign, Rosberg was able to jump John Watson, Alain Prost and Niki Lauda to enter the final race, the Caesars Palace Grand Prix, ahead by nine points.
He closed in on the battle and took the drivers' title by five points.
2012: Sebastian Vettel
Sebastian Vettel knows about a fight to the end. His first championship saw him take the crown by a mere four points.
But in 2012, the deficit was even more spectacular.
Alonso had built his lead and with eight races remaining, with 164 points to Vettel's 140.
But the German quickly turned the tide with four consecutive wins to enter the season finale leading by 13 points.
Sebastian Vettel celebrates championship victory. LAT Images
Alonso wouldn't let that deter him from mounting a challenge.
Vettel had a heart-breaking run-in with Bruno Senna on the first lap that dropped him to the back of the field.
Although he sustained damage, Vettel crossed the line in sixth, stopping second-placed Alonso's rally by a mere three points.
1976: James Hunt
James Hunt took his singular drivers' championship in one of the sport's most well-known stories of all time.
Niki Lauda entered round 10 of the 1976 season with a 23-point lead but was severely injured in a fiery incident around the Nürburgring.
James Hunt and Niki Lauda celebrate on the podium. LAT Images
Although he was able to make a remarkable return to the sport for the final four races of the season, Hunt had punched a hole in the German's deficit and trailed by only three points.
The season finale in Fuji, Japan saw Lauda bow out from the race due to torrential rain, leaving Hunt to clinch the championship with his third-place finish.
