The winner of the 2025 F1 drivers’ title is yet to be decided, and James Hinchcliffe believes the fate of which direction it swings will be decided by someone other than the three main championship protagonists.
Lando Norris needs to outscore Max Verstappen and Oscar Piastri by just two points at the next round of racing in Lusail in order for him to secure his very first world title in Formula 1.
That makes Piastri and Verstappen’s task clear: they must finish ahead of the championship leader in both Saturday’s Sprint race, and Sunday’s Grand Prix for their title hopes to remain alive.
However, they won’t be alone in their efforts to take Norris down from his perch at the top of the F1 standings.
There will be plenty of other drivers vying for a place on the podium, and it could be a deciding factor in which way the championship ends up swinging.
James Hinchliffe thinks Ferrari and Mercedes will play a vital role in the direction of the 2025 F1 drivers’ championship
Speaking on a recent episode of the Off Track with Hinch and Rossi podcast, former IndyCar star James Hinchcliffe highlighted how the 2025 drivers’ title could be decided by factors outside of the control of Norris, Piastri and Verstappen.
He said, “The championship, I think, is going to be decided by Mercedes and Ferrari, because if Max wins and these guys keep finishing second, he doesn’t get it.
“But if Max wins, which, again, I do think he will, I think he can easily sweep the last 58 points available. And it’s not about Max winning or not.
“It’s about, can Leclerc get in there? Can Russell get in there? Can these guys mix it up and take points away from McLaren?”
Mercedes have been steadily taking a lot of points away from the main championship protagonists in recent races.
In the last two races alone, both Silver Arrows have finished between the two McLaren drivers at the chequered flag.
Piastri benefited from Kimi Antonelli’s five-second penalty in Las Vegas, which was later made redundant after the Australian was disqualified from the race along with Norris.
Mercedes and Ferrari still have a lot to play for in the final rounds of the current Formula 1 campaign
Even with the constructors’ championship already wrapped up and everyone but the top three mathematically out of contention for the drivers’ title, the stakes for Mercedes and Ferrari remain high into the final couple of rounds of racing.
Both F1 outfits are still in the hunt for the second-place spot in the teams’ standings, with Mercedes currently holding the advantage after capitalising on the recent form of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton.
The Scuderia held a slender one-point advantage over the Silver Arrows heading into the Sao Paulo Grand Prix just two rounds ago, but that advantage has now swung into a deficit of 53 points.
Recent form has seen Ferrari drop down to fourth in the standings, with Red Bull also leapfrogging them in the process.
However, with a maximum of 101 points left up for grabs in the landscape of the constructors’ championship, it really is anyone’s to play for.
If Ferrari come out swinging in a last-ditch attempt to secure second, it could leave all three of the protagonists in the drivers’ championship wailing.
- READ MORE: Jolyon Palmer pinpoints where Lando Norris fell for Max Verstappen’s ‘mind games’ in Las Vegas
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