Fifty-eight points up for grabs, sixty if we consider two fastest laps, to decide who will be the Formula 1 world champion in 2025. A World Championship which, at the end of August, seemed to be all papaya-coloured while now, with two races and a Sprint to go, has a very, very cumbersome third wheel: Max Verstappen, chasing his fifth world title in a row. The Qatar Grand Prix, scheduled for the weekend, brings with it many themes especially after the double disqualification of McLaren in Las Vegas which brought the Dutch Red Bull just 24 points from the top, currently occupied by Lando Norris. Super Max, from Zandvoort onwards, was a hammer, never getting off the podium: 4 victories, two second and as many third places allowed him to dream of an epic comeback. Sisal experts consider Max Verstappen the big favorite in Qatar, where he has crossed the finish line first for two years: the success of the Red Bull number 1 is given at 2.25 for the Sprint while it drops to 2.00 for the Sunday race.
Behind the Dutchman is the current world ranking leader, Lando Norris, who has a very specific objective in mind: to emerge from the Qatari weekend with at least two points more than Verstappen and Piastri, a result that would allow him to celebrate his first world title. The Englishman from McLaren is playing for the winner, among the Middle Eastern hairpin bends, at 2.75 on Saturday and 3.00 in the Grand Prix.
The one chasing is Oscar Piastri, Norris’ teammate and former dominator of the season, who has collapsed both in terms of performance and psychologically: the Australian driver, at the wheel of the McLaren number 81, is offered at 5.00 for the Sprint and 6.00 for the Grand Prix.
The situation at Ferrari is even more difficult: the Maranello team sees the possibility of ending the season without a victory getting ever closer. The success of the Red Team in Qatar is at 9.00 while moving on to the individual drivers, Charles Leclerc is played at 16 while Lewis Hamilton, who won the first edition in Lusail in 2021, is even given at 33.