Jenson Button explains how Max Verstappen could actively save Lando Norris’ F1 title hopes

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Jenson Button has explained how Max Verstappen’s purple patch in recent races could have a hand in saving Lando Norris’ title hopes against McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri.

Verstappen’s statement about his chances of winning another race in the current campaign has proved to have been a premature prediction about the competitiveness of his 2025 Red Bull F1 car.

The declaration came after the final race weekend before the summer break, and the Dutchman has taken two pole positions and two Grand Prix victories in the bouts since.

Verstappen held a 97-point deficit to the championship-leading Piastri at the time, and his recent performances have seen that deficit be taken down to 63 points as the grid gets ready for the final quarter of the year.

Former F1 driver Button has offered his verdict on how the 28-year-old’s reemergence as a contender for the top step of the podium may actually benefit his on-track rival Norris.

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Jenson Button thinks Max Verstappen’s competitive emergence is ‘a good thing’ for Lando Norris’ championship hopes

Speaking on Sky Sports F1’s coverage of Sprint qualifying on Friday afternoon, Simon Lazenby was discussing how a DNF for the Brit could effectively end the title race at the height of its tension.

Stating that we don’t need any more Zandvoort-like DNFs for Norris in the final quarter of the season, Button joked, “Yeah, unless it was for Oscar. That brings the other two back into the mix.”

The 2009 world champion then added, “But, yeah, we don’t want to see DNFs anyway. For Lando, I think it’s a good thing for Lando that Max is in the mix a little bit, because the team aren’t just saying, well, it’s between you two, you’re gonna stop on this lap.

“He’s gonna stop if he’s in front on this lap, you get to stop on the next lap. It’s all very sort of regimented.

“Whereas if they’re looking at Red Bull, it mixes things up a little bit, and maybe you can try something else, and there’s more opportunity for someone like Lando to take it to us.”

After Verstappen’s pole for Saturday’s Sprint race, McLaren team chief Andrea Stella’s comments about Red Bull seemed to sound the alarm on the Woking-based outfit’s woes regarding the newfound performance in their RB21.

The Austrian constructor certainly poses a problem to their rivals in the final rounds of the season, and they could very well spoil the party for the papaya.

READ MORE: Max Verstappen beats Lando Norris to United States Grand Prix Sprint pole as Ferrari struggle

Charles Leclerc thinks the 2025 F1 title will be heading in the direction of Oscar Piastri at the end of the season

In the paddock of the Circuit of the Americas, Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc was asked for his opinion on who he thinks will take the championship trophy home with them following the conclusion of the season in Abu Dhabi.

After a few moments of deliberation over the question, Leclerc tipped the title to go to Piastri but warned the Australian not to ‘underestimate’ his pacey teammate.

The prediction echoed Leclerc’s previous comments about the title race, in which he identified the advantage that Piastri had over Norris ahead of the Hungarian GP in August.

However, the outright prediction that the 24-year-old would be classed as a world champion on the grid next season was certainly a new statement from the Monegasque.

Piastri thought his only opponent would be Norris during the final stretch of the current term, but Verstappen is looking more and more likely to throw a spanner into the works with every passing race weekend.