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F1 title scenarios: How Norris, Verstappen, or Piastri could win championship

The 2025 Formula 1 season began nearly nine months ago in Melbourne, Australia.

Twenty-three races have led the grid of 20 drivers and countless fans across the world to the site of the regular season finale: the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi.

For much of the year, the battle for the drivers' championship seemed to be between McLaren teammates Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris. The team won its second consecutive constructors' title two months ago behind what's been the fastest car for most of the year.

Then Max Verstappen happened.

The four-time defending world champion's been on a charge following the summer break. Verstappen managed just two wins in the first 15 races this year. But everything changed at the Italian Grand Prix as he's rattled off five wins in the last eight events.

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Those results, in addition to McLaren's drop in pace, means the championship is undecided entering the final race for the first time since 2021. This year is an even more unusual situation: three drivers are still in the running for the title entering the finale for just the seventh time ever and the first since 2010.

Norris won the season finale in Abu Dhabi last season, but that is far from where we are now. It all comes down to Sunday's race at the Yas Marina Circuit to decide whether a new name joins the list of F1 champions – Norris or Piastri – or if Verstappen joins even more rarified air in the sport's history as a five-time champion.

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Norris holds a 12-point lead over Verstappen and a 16-point lead over teammate Piastri. The winning driver earns 25 points so there are plenty of scenarios in which each driver could take the title. Here's how each driver could win the F1 drivers' championship:

Oct. 5: George Russell, Grand Prix of Singapore

Sept. 21 - Max Verstappen, Grand Prix of Azerbaijan

Sept. 7 - Max Verstappen, Grand Prix of Italy at Autodromo Nazionale Monza

Aug. 31 - Oscar Piastri, Grand Prix of Netherlands

Aug. 3 - Lando Norris, Grand Prix of Hungary

July 27 - Oscar Piastri, Belgian Grand Prix

July 6 - Lando Norris, British Grand Prix

June 29 - Lando Norris, Austrian Grand Prix

June 15 - George Russell, Canadian Grand Prix

June 1 - Oscar Piastri, Spanish Grand Prix

May 25 - Lando Norris, Monaco Grand Prix

May 18 - Max Verstappen, Grand Prix of Emilia-Romagna

April 20 - Oscar Piastri, Saudi Arabian Grand Prix

April 13 - Oscar Piastri, Bahrain Grand Prix

April 6 - Max Verstappen, Japanese Grand Prix

March 23 - Oscar Piastri, Chinese Grand Prix

March 16 - Lando Norris, Australian Grand Prix

Winners from each Formula One race in the 2025 season

Lando Norris title scenarios

Norris has the points lead entering the finale and with it has the most straightforward title scenarios. He can clinch the title if he finishes first, second or third – regardless of where Verstappen or Piastri finish.

If he fails to finish on the podium, here are all the other scenarios in which he can win the title:

Norris 4th, Verstappen 2nd and Piastri anywhere
Norris 5th, Verstappen 2nd and Piastri anywhere
Norris 6th and neither Verstappen nor Piastri win
Norris 7th and neither Verstappen nor Piastri win
Norris 8th, Verstappen 3rd and Piastri 2nd
Norris 9th, Verstappen 4th and Piastri 2nd
Norris 10th, Verstappen 4th and Piastri 3rd
Norris 11th or worse, Verstappen 4th and Piastri 3rd

Max Verstappen title scenarios

With his late-season charge and history of dominance, Verstappen certainly has momentum on his side. He'd make a historic comeback from more than 100 points back in the championship chase to take his fifth title.

To win the title, Verstappen must finish on the podium. Here are the scenarios in which he can win the title:

Verstappen 1st, Norris 4th and Piastri anywhere
Verstappen 2nd, Norris 8th and Piastri does not win
Verstappen 3rd, Norris 9th and Piastri does not win

Oscar Piastri title scenarios

Piastri looked to be the dominant driver at McLaren for much of the season with four wins in the first six races. That form dropped off over time, though, and he hasn't won a Grand Prix race since the end of August.

With the biggest deficit to the leader Norris, Piastri has the slimmest chances of winning the title. He needs to finish either first or second and get help to make that happen. Here are his scenarios to win the title:

Piastri 1st, Norris 6th and Verstappen anywhere
Piastri 2nd, Norris 10th and Verstappen 4th

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:How Lando Norris, Max Verstappen, or Oscar Piastri could win F1 title

byAdministrator

in

December 05, 2025

F1 title scenarios: How Norris, Verstappen, or Piastri could win championship

The 2025 Formula 1 season began nearly nine months ago in Melbourne, Australia. Twenty-three races have led th...

How CFP will be impacted by every conference championship game scenario

There are only so many ways theCollege Football Playoffcan come together with only nine games left in the regular season.

We could have a chalky finish, with favorites such as Texas Tech winning to keep fringe contenders such as Brigham Young from bringing chaos to the final rankings.

Or we could have a dramatic close to the regular season, allowing teams like Brigham Young and Miami to come in just under the wire to make the 12-team tournament.

Over three months after we got things started,conference championship gameswill determine who gets to play for the national championship and where. Here are the scenarios for what could happen in Sunday's final rankings:

What happens if Ohio State beats Indiana?

Ohio State will remain the No. 1 seed and complete a wire-to-wire run atop the playoff rankings. TheBuckeyeswould get a bye through the opening round and then play the winner of the No. 8 and No. 9 game in the quarterfinals.

While the SEC championship could impact things, Indiana would likely fall to No. 4 ifGeorgiaand Texas Tech win but still earn an opening-round bye.

What happens if Indiana beats Ohio State?

Just flip the scenario above. Indiana would climb to No. 1 and Ohio State would fall to No. 3 or No. 4, again depending on the SEC.

What happens if Georgia beatsAlabama?

The Bulldogs would become the No. 2 seed. That's the easy part.

Where Alabama lands might depend in some part on the final score, though this week's one-spot climb to No. 9 in the penultimate rankings strongly suggests the Crimson Tide will hang onto an at-large berth regardless of the result. That's in part because theTide beat Georgia in the regular season.

The most likely fallout from a loss is Alabama dropping one spot to No. 10, which would have the benefit of avoiding rematches between the Tide and Oklahoma and Notre Dame and Texas A&M.

But if Alabama loses and Brigham Young beats Texas Tech to win the Big 12, the Tide might fall out of the tournament entirely while Notre Dame hangs onto the final at-large spot.

What happens if Alabama beats Georgia?

This wouldn't change the makeup of the bracket as much have a heavy impact on seeding.

A second win against Georgia and a conference championship would vault Alabama to the front of the line in the SEC. The win would offset the Tide's loss to Oklahoma and move them ahead of Texas A&M, Mississippi and the Georgia. All four would still earn an at-large berth, and Georgia would likely be ranked second among SEC teams.

The question is whether Alabama would jump as many as five spots to secure one of the top four seeds. While a big leap, that wouldn't be surprising.

Let's start with the assumption the Tide are ranked first among the five SEC playoff teams. If you then give the No. 1 seed to the winner of the Big Ten, the No. 2 seed to Texas Tech and the loser of the Big Ten to No. 3, Alabama's competition for the No. 4 seed would be Oregon.

That's a comparison the Tide would win by virtue of having the same number of wins, much better wins overall against a much tougher schedule and a conference championship.

What happens if Texas Tech beats BYU?

Texas Tech would be either the No. 3 or No. 4 seed. TheRed Raiderscould stay at No. 4 if Ohio State loses a close one to the Hoosiers. BYU would not have an at-large case with a second loss to Tech and would be left out of the playoff.

Texas Tech running back J'Koby Williams (20) rushes against Brigham Young during their game at Jones AT&T Stadium.

What happens if BYU beats Texas Tech?

The Cougars nab an automatic bid and would climb ahead of at least Notre Dame and maybe Alabama and Oklahoma, too. But don't look for BYU to jump ahead of Texas Tech unless it's a blowout that negates a 29-7 loss in Lubbock last month.

Tech would drop from this week's No. 4 ranking and could land behind Texas A&M, though the Red Raiders have better wins and might've played a tougher schedule overall than the Aggies.

What happens if Virginia beatsDuke?

This is the result the ACC is hoping for. Virginia would earn an automatic bid as one of the five highest-ranked conference champions. The Cavaliers were No. 17 in the penultimate rankings and would earn the No. 11 seed in the bracket.

What happens if Duke beats Virginia?

OK, so here's where things get dicey.

Duke would be the one guaranteed ACC representative. For now, Miami seems likely to end up boxed out of an at-large bid despite beating Notre Dame.

Should BYU lose, the Hurricanes would climb No. 11 in the final rankings and potentially be just behind the Irish. That would be highly controversial and would require a detailed explanation from the committee as to why they ignored the head-to-head tiebreaker when taking into account similar results such as Oklahoma's win against Alabama.

Here's the problem for the ACC in the case of a Duke win: The playoff grants automatic spots to the five highest-ranked conference champions, not each of the Power Four winners and then the best team from the Group of Five.

Duke did not appear in the penultimate rankings. Sun Belt front-runnerJames Madisondebuted at No. 25. It's easy to see Duke coming in sixth among conference champions – behind the Big Ten, SEC, Big 12, American and Sun Belt – and the ACC being shut out of the playoff altogether.

What happens if James Madison beats Troy?

Combined with a Duke win, this could send JMU to the playoff despite coming in behind the American winner among Group of Five teams in the final rankings. The guaranteed Group of Five berth will be given to the winner of Tulane against North Texas.

The Dukes will not fall out of the rankings with a solid win against Troy – they're favored by more than three touchdowns as of Wednesday – and the Blue Devils shouldn't climb into the rankings, either, thanks to five losses.

What happens if Troy beats James Madison?

This game is played on Friday night, so the ACC will know the story before kickoff on Saturday. If Troy beats JMU and Duke knocks off Virginia, the Blue Devils will earn the automatic bid as the fifth highest-ranked conference winner.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:CFP scenarios for college football conference championship games

byAdministrator

in

December 05, 2025

How CFP will be impacted by every conference championship game scenario

There are only so many ways theCollege Football Playoffcan come together with only nine games left in the regular season...

How does World Cup draw work? 2026 FIFA format and pots explained

Follow theWorld Cup draw with live updatesand find out who the USMNT and soccer's best will be facing during the 2026 tournament.

TheFIFA World Cup drawon Friday, Dec. 5 will reveal the groups and bracket for the 2026tournament in North America, with some new procedures in place as the field expands to 48 teams.

The 12 groups will be drawn from four pots based on the world rankings with the USA, Mexico and Canada placed in the first group as the tournament's co-hosts, theoretically clearing an easier path out of the group stage.

Additionally, the top four teams – Spain, Argentina, France and England – will be separated so that they cannot meet until the semifinals.

The World Cup kicks off on June 11 with the final set for July 19 at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

Here's what to expect from Friday's draw: