Lando Norris is in hot pursuit of Max Verstappen for his first World Championship and, although the gap is significant, he can take a cue from Sebastian Vettel for inspiration.
Ahead of the Italian GP, Lando Norris is 70 points behind Max Verstappen in the Drivers’ standings. The British driver has a long way to go to complete the comeback, but the mathematics are in his favour and it is up to his own performance and that of the McLaren MCL38 to beat the three-time World Champion.
F1 2024 title permutations: Can Lando Norris overhaul Max Verstappen?
Norris still has nine races and three Sprints to complete what could be the greatest comeback ever seen in Formula 1 under the current points system (25-18-15-12-10-8-6-4-2-1), a points system that was implemented in 2010 and since then, with the exception of the 2021 season, has seen three eras of singular dominance.
The first era of Red Bull from 2010 to 2013, Mercedes from 2014 to 2020 and again Red Bull from 2022 to the present – we will see if McLaren is finally able to stop it, at least in the Constructors’ Championship.
However, within these eras of dominance with few title fights, there are two seasons that stand out above the rest and can be of great inspiration to Lando.
Sebastian Vettel’s 2010 and 2012 comebacks are probably the most memorable performances in the last 14 years of World Championship contention, excluding 2021 of course.
In 2010, Sebastian Vettel clinched the first of his four F1 World Championships with Red Bull in surprise fashion. The big favourite before the final race in Abu Dhabi was Fernando Alonso with an eight-point lead over Mark Webber and 15 points over Vettel. Ferrari was blinded by protecting Alonso’s position over Webber and gave the World Championship to Seb.
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