Max Verstappen’s eighth-place finish in the Singapore Grand Prix prevented him from winning his second F1 Drivers Championship.
Although the Red Bull driver will have another chance to win consecutive championships this weekend because she starts from pole in Japan.
With five races left in the season, only Charles Leclerc of Ferrari and Sergio Perez, the Dutchman’s Red Bull teammate, have a realistic chance to overtake the leader.
With 341 points, Verstappen now leads the drivers’ standings by 104 points over Leclerc in second place and by two points above Perez.
With the possibility that Verstappen will win the championship in Japan, no driver has ever squandered such a significant lead at this point in the season.
What are the many means through which he might do this, though?
And can his competitors find any solace in one of the greatest title comebacks in Formula 1 history? talkSPORT.com examines…
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F1 title permutations: If Verstappen finishes first
After the race at Suzuka, Verstappen has to be 112 points in front of his closest rival in the standings to win the title.
With four races left in the season, he would become just the third driver in history, behind Sebastian Vettel (2011) and Michael Schumacher (2001/2004), to win the championship.
Verstappen will once again be named champion if he wins the race next weekend and Leclerc comes in lower than second.
However, regardless of the outcome for the Ferrari star, the 25-year-old will keep his title if he also turns in the quickest lap.
With Japan included, there are a maximum of 138 points available when taking into account the 26 points provided for race wins with the fastest lap bonus and the additional eight points for winning the sprint race at the Brazilian Grand Prix next month.
Verstappen leads Leclerc 11-3 in race wins, therefore even if the two of them tied for first place in the standings at the end of the season, Leclerc would not prevail.
If the Monegasque and Perez finish ahead of Verstappen, they can both keep the title fight going for at least one more week until the USA.
Verstappen would also not have the necessary 112 point advantage over Leclerc to win in Japan if he finished outside the top six.
Biggest title comebacks in F1 history
20 points down with five races remaining for John Surtees in 1964 (points system: 9-6-4-3-2-1)
James Hunt in 1976: behind by 17 points with three races remaining (points system: 9-6-4-3-2-1)
Nelson Piquet in 1983: behind by 14 points with three races remaining (points system: 9-6-4-3-2-1)
Alain Prost in 1986: behind by 11 points with two races remaining (points system: 9-6-4-3-2-1)
With two races remaining, Kimi Raikkonen is 17 points behind in 2007. (points system: 10-8-6-5-4-3-2-1)
With six races left, Sebastian Vettel 2010 is 31 points behind (points system: 25-18-15-12-10-8-6-4-2-1)
F1 title permutations: If Verstappen finishes second to sixth
Verstappen must have at least eight more points than Leclerc and only six more than Perez in order to surpass them without winning the race at Suzuka.
- Verstappen finishes second with fastest lap: He will be champ if Leclerc finishes fifth or lower – Perez finishes fourth or lower
- Verstappen finishes second without fastest lap: He will be champ if Leclerc finishes lower than fifth or finishes fifth without bonus point – Perez finishes lower than fourth or finishes fourth without bonus point
- Verstappen finishes third with fastest lap: Leclerc has to finish fifth or higher to deny him – Perez fourth
- Verstappen finishes third without fastest lap: Leclerc has to finish sixth or higher to deny him – Perez fifth
- Verstappen finishes fourth: Leclerc needs to finish at least seventh – Perez finishes sixth or seventh with bonus point
- Verstappen finishes fifth: Leclerc would have to finish no lower than eighth – Perez seventh
- Verstappen finishes sixth: Leclerc would have to finish outside the points – Perez can extend title race by finishing eighth or ninth with bonus point
